Runaways
by TheChriZ1995
Summary: Kate and Humphrey oversleep on the train and end up missing their stop in Jasper. Now many miles away once again they must make their way home, but could this end up being a new start for them? Well you're gonna have to read to find out! :D Story is now complete!
1. Overshot

**A/N: Why hello there reader, welcome to yet another story by me and this time I decided to write a 'what if' kind of story. Enjoy!**

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_Humphrey's POV_

I woke to the constant sound of the train car creaking as it ran along the tracks below. I opened my eyes to see where we were but it was dark due to the doors of the train car were closed. 'Huh, I guess the train stopped somewhere while we were asleep' I thought to myself. There was still some light coming in from an open hatch above me that was opened to the outside. As I stretched out on the floor before I looked to the side of me and could faintly see Kate still sound asleep in the corner of the car. I instantly remembered the howl we shared the previous night, it was beautiful and almost felt like a dream, but it was all real. I knew I would have to tell my true feelings to her and I wanted to right after we howled but I choked up. I just couldn't do it, I'm scared that I'll be rejected which was seeming to be a most likely to happen scenario considering we're different ranks. But I can't just give up I've loved her ever since I got to know her, as a friend and romantically. We even howled, I mean come on she must has some feelings for me too right?

I was just in a war with myself trying to find what I should go with, my heart or the harsh fact that we could never be married in a pack. My thoughts were interrupted by the movement of Kate stretching beside me. Her eyes opened after this and looked at me "Good Morning" I said looking back. "Good morning Humphrey" She replied back before taking a look around the train car. I did the same, it was obviously daytime outside but I began to wonder how much further Jasper was. I wish Kate and I could spend more time together on this trip, at first we didn't get along too well but after we lost our ride at the gas station things turned much better between us. We talked more and even played games as we made our way to the train.

"Do you know where we are?" I heard Kate ask in a somewhat serious tone "No not exactly" I replied "For all I know Jasper could just be around the next corner." "That's what I'm worried about" She said getting up and proceeding to the open hatch on the roof.

'Why is she so anxious to get home?' I thought 'She's been like this most of the trip and I just don't get it.' I could understand that she maybe just misses being home but there must be something more. I suddenly heard the sound of something being dragged on the ground. I turned to see Kate trying to push some human made stack of box's under the hatch. "What are you doing?" I asked getting up on my paws "Trying to look and see what's outside, maybe I can see if we're near the park or not" She said before continuing her struggle to push the box's.

"Here let me help" I said walking up next to her and pushing as well, the box's then began to move until it was in the right spot. I watched as she jumped on top of the boxes and looked outside of the car "Well, see anything familiar?" I asked after watching her turn her head around surveying the landscape I couldn't see.

"It's safe to say we're nowhere near Jasper..." I heard her say plainly, I was confused. "What do you mean?" I asked, I was sure Marcel and Paddy would have woken us to give us a heads up for when to jump off. Maybe we just weren't there yet "Well for starters there shouldn't be snow on the ground in Jasper and it's much more mountainous out here." She said before coming back down the boxes and landing on the ground next to me "See for yourself"

I followed what she said and jumped up the boxes as well and looked out of the hatch. She was right, there was nothing but snow on the ground and it looked like we were going through a mountain pass. Nothing around really felt like home, I jumped down to the floor as well after having enough looking outside. "Maybe were just not to Jasper yet" I suggested, it seemed like the most logical explanation.

"Maybe, but didn't they tell us that we would get there in no time?" She said. She did have a point, they did tell us that but everyone has a different idea of time. "Well maybe they mean no time as in one day's travel on here" I said "True, I guess we can wait and see after all they can't be too far from where we are." She agreed. We both sat down and I looked around the room wondering what to do to pass the time. I couldn't think of anything to talk about with her which was odd since I could usually entertain her with a few jokes. A few minutes passed with just the sound of the trains movement and occasional wind gust blowing past.

Then to our sudden surprise an all too familiar voice filled up the room. "Ah there you two are" I heard Marcel say, we looked around to find that he was peering through the roof the car "Marcel there you are!" Kate exclaimed as I watched him fly into the room and landed in front of us followed by paddy. "We thought you forgot about us" She said

"Of course not" Marcel replied "But you can say we failed to notify you on when you had to depart off this train, it wasn't our fault though." "Are you saying we missed our stop in Jasper?" She asked sounding a little shocked. "Yes I'm afraid that's quite right, unfortunately the train stopped in a town during the middle of the night to unload." Paddy said

"Paddy please" Marcel said slightly annoyed "He's right and they ended up closing the doors on you two meaning we couldn't get to you." He finished. I found it amusing that Marcel would always get annoyed when Paddy took over the conversation from him. I was surprised at the fact that we did indeed miss Jasper, but oddly enough I was glad because I still had some more time with Kate. It might seem kind of selfish but maybe I could finally get the chance I needed to tell her my feelings. One thing was puzzling me about their story, they say they couldn't get to us but what about the open hatch they just came through?

"If you couldn't get to us then what about that hatch above you just came through?" I asked "Ah simple it wasn't open at the time, though I'm not sure what opened it." Marcel replied "Perhaps a human did" Paddy suggested.

I heard Kate let out a sigh of frustration next me and I turned to see her facing me "Well what do we do?" She asked. I was surprised normally she always had the control ever since we got to Idaho but now she was asking me for a decision. I did also say we were a team so I guess she agrees "Well obviously we still need to get back home, but that leaves a question. Where and how far is home?" I said.

"Yeah I agree, that's the goal of this trip anyway" She agreed "I can answer that question" Marcel said, we both looked to him "You're around 20 miles north of Jasper which would mean one to two days travel if you just walked." He finished.

"Great, I just hope we can make it back in time before anything bad happens." Kate said. Anything bad? What did she mean by that? I asked myself, I wanted to ask her why but it occurred to me that it must be something that isn't of my concern. "Yeah..." I said plainly acting like I knew what she was talking about.

"Now how do we get out of here?" She asked the two birds as I began to look around for a way out. I knew that going onto the roof would be too dangerous to jump down from. I turned my attention to the doors and could see some sort of handle on the side of it. "Well I'm not sure" I heard Paddy say as I walked over to one of the doors. "But apparently you're wolf friend does" He finished referring to me.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked me "I noticed this handle on the door, maybe it opens it." I replied before biting down on it and pulling, to my surprise it actually moved and suddenly the whole door slid opened in front of me. "See omegas are good for something" I joked looking back at them with a smile receiving a laugh from Kate. "Yes you are right" She said walking over to me at the edge of the car. I looked out and could still see lots of snow on the ground, we were still in the mountains. "If you just follow the tracks back south you should get back home within two days." Marcel said behind us "And remember we won't be too far away from you."

"Ready?" I asked looking at Kate who was already getting ready to jump out of the car, I took this as a yes. I watched her run and jump out of the car with me quickly following her. I could see her land perfectly but unfortunately for me I didn't, luckily the snow acted as a cushion when I landed on my side.

"You okay?" I heard her ask "Yes the snow is a nice thing to land on" I replied looking to see the end of the train disappear around a curve. "Well come on, maybe we can get some good distance down before it gets late." She said beginning to walk parallel to the tracks. "Coming" I said getting up and following alongside her. I could already feel the cold air through my fur and to be honest it made me want to get to Jasper where it was warmer.

Kate was keeping a quicker than walking pace as we passed by the many trees in the forest, and after about two hours of this I needed a rest. "Kate do you think we could take a break?" I asked keeping up. "Alright but a quick one" She replied looking back at me. 'Still in a rush I see' I thought to myself as we stopped under a large pine tree, one of the many around. I sat down as did she by the stump of it catching my breath, it made me think that I sure needed to build a stamina up.

"Well it sure is beautiful up here" I said making small talk "Yeah, but it is a bit too cold" She agreed "We are in the mountains after all" I said getting a nod from her. After a few more minutes past I felt rested enough to continue going, I just hoped she wouldn't want to do this all night. "Okay I'm good" I said getting up with her doing the same.

"Okay, I think we can go for another two hours before the sun starts to set." She said taking lead like she always did being alpha. "Sounds good to me" I agreed following as we continued south. I began to think how I should tell her my feelings because at this rate we would be back home before I even had a chance. 'It would have to be tonight...' I thought to myself meaning I needed to come up with a plan.


	2. Fun and Games

**A/N: Yay a new chapter!**

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_Humphrey's POV_

As I followed beside Kate though the cold unknown forest my mind was busy on making a plan to tell her my feelings. I choked up once before and I really didn't want to do it again for the fear I'll miss my chance before we get home. I had gone through ideas like telling her tonight but I couldn't think of a way to say it without it sounding like "Oh hey by the way I love you". Which was fine but a little blunt, I wanted it to be a special moment for when I actually did say it. I began to think about possibly going on a walk together, oh wait we already are. This was starting to make me frustrated to a point where I just stopped thinking about it and focused on what Kate and I were walking by.

Although it was nothing different than what I saw earlier, still cold out with plenty of snow. I looked up to the sun and realized it was getting closer to setting, I must of had been thinking pretty hard since an hour just flew past. Since I knew that meant we still had another hour or so to go until she called it quits I decided to come up with an idea. I could see a small mountain that looked under a mile away and was perfect to have a race too. "So Kate, fancy a race?" I asked catching up to be at her side "A race?" She replied looking back at me.

"Yeah from here to that small mountain ahead" I said gesturing towards it with my head. I knew she wouldn't pass on the offer considering her competitiveness can get the better of her as I found out the last time we had a race. "You're on, just try and keep up" She said just as I expected "Hey I won the last time" I said back before we both began to run.

The thick snow didn't really help as my paws just sunk right into it as I ran but nonetheless surprisingly I was able to keep up. The last time we raced I managed to find a shortcut that put me much ahead of her but now it was all about who was actually faster in a straight line. After a minute or two into our race she started to pull ahead of me which I knew was coming since she had all the alpha stamina that I didn't. The top of the mountain drew closer with Kate having a good lead in front of me which she kept when I finally reached the top. "Woo, I should think twice about asking you to race next time." I said out of breath before I plopped down onto the snow that felt refreshing.

She laughed in victory "Yeah, the score is one to one now" She said walking over to me. "Oh no that means we need a tiebreaker" I said "Mmhm and what game should that be?" She asked. I got up on my paws and looked down on what lie ahead of us and saw a long downhill into a valley.

The obvious idea came right to me "Let's do something more my style..." I started before Kate knew what I was going to say "Log sled race?" She said. "Ah now you're thinking like an omega, yes first one to the bottom of the hill wins it all." I said, normally I was never this competitive but seeing her having fun was enough to make me do so. "Okay but only because the slope isn't steep" She said. I looked around and to our luck there was a hollow log that was already split in half not too far away.

"Well what are the odds" I said as we walked over to them and positioned them facing down the slope. "Ready?" I asked looking at her who was across from me holding her sled "When you are" She replied with a smile. I smiled back "Okay one, two, three... Go!" I yelled before I jumped into my sled and quickly gained speed followed by her. We were neck and neck as we left a cloud of snow behind us; I defiantly enjoyed doing this on the snow. You can get a whole lot more speed and turning was no problem at all.

It didn't take long before we were more than halfway to the bottom and I had the lead as I weaved around each tree that was in the way. But I was soon passed quickly by none other than Kate who had a slick smile on her face as she passed. All I could do was laugh as the slope flattened out reducing our speeds before coming to a stop next to each other. "Alright looks like the alphas take home the gold" I said getting off my sled as did she. "Woo hoo! What do I win?" She said happily "You get to catch us dinner" I replied with a smile

"Oh great, but only if you find us a place to stay for the night." She said "Deal" I said. We went our separate ways doing our objectives, for me it shouldn't be too hard to find something to call a den. In fact most of the places we slept this trip were basically under a tree. I looked around each tree and rock to see if there was any crevasse to take shelter in. So far I had been coming up with nothing and soon a good half hour had passed. 'Hmm, I hope we don't have to end up building one' I thought to myself, it would take a good few hours to do something like that. That was time we did not have and working in the night didn't sound like a good idea to me.

My luck changed as I came up over a small hill and the view in front of me took my breath away. An ice covered lake spanned out ahead before ending at the base of mountains. It wasn't anything like I've seen before and the first time I've ever seen an expanse of water like this besides the one Kate and I howled over. It wasn't anything like the sight of the valley in Jasper but it came close. And just when I thought it couldn't get any better, along the tree line was an undermined tree similar to the one we found during that thunderstorm a few days back. 'Perfect' my mind said as I walked over to the possible den to investigate. It was quite a large room and was isolated from the outside which was good because there was no snow inside. And due to the snow height you actually had to climb down inside it which made it even more secluded.

I walked back outside and waited for Kate who was to bring us some food, the last thing I ate was that cupcake thing that almost got us killed. I began to think about my quest to tell my love for her yet again, and the lake did seem like a nice place to tell her. Possibly in the morning I could before we begin traveling again, but as for now I'm just going to let things happen. After about ten minutes I saw Kate come over the rise just as I did before and I could see her eyes light up. In her mouth were two squirrels which fell out of her mouth as she looked at the lake, I couldn't help but laugh at the sight. "Pretty isn't it?" I asked walking up by then she managed to shocked look off her face. "It's amazing! I've never seen anything like this before." She said before picking the squirrels back up.

"And what's even better is I found a den right there" I said pointing with my forepaw at it. She nodded before we walked over to it and climbed inside. She dropped the prey on the ground before looking at me "It's not much but it should get us through for tomorrow, I was surprised I even found anything since it's so cold." She said

"Looks good" I said before taking one as did she "So it took me a good half hour of searching until I came across this place." I said "I was beginning to think we could have to build something." "I'm glad, I'd rather get much more sleep and not have to build something." She replied. "Yeah me too" I agreed, we continued our talk as we enjoy a real meal for once in days. It felt satisfying to get to meat back into my system and it would give us some extra energy for tomorrows traveling. I licked some of the blood off my muzzle before I looked over to Kate who was just finishing her squirrel, but the blood on her mouth from it made her look like a vicious killer. She must have noticed me starring at her because she looked at and smiled oddly "What?" She asked

"You look like you just killed a whole herd of caribou" I joked with a laugh, her eyes looked to her muzzle as she grinned before proceeding to lick the blood off. "What can I say, a wolfs got to eat" She joked back, that was one thing about her that changed during this trip. She became more loose and actually looked like she enjoyed herself instead of being the strict alpha she was trained to be. Perhaps this was just my effect on her being because we're two different ranks put together in a survival situation, but she still had that strictness in her. Not that I was complaining, just happy to see her having fun instead of constantly worrying about other things like getting home. "You're right it was nice to get some food in after so long" I finally said

The inside of the den was slowly darkening due to the sun setting while we ate but after sometime a new light was shining outside which just happened to be the moon. As much as I wanted to ask Kate to howl again I knew I couldn't, at least not until after I told her my feelings. The howling we did might have been a onetime thing and I didn't feel like pushing anything to her for the very fear of why I kept choking up to tell her my feelings, afraid of being rejected. I realized that several minutes had passed while I was distracted in my thoughts and decided to strike a conversation up before I would go to sleep early. After all we did have another long day of travel ahead of us and I wanted to have enough energy to keep up with her.

"What's the plan for tomorrow?" I asked wanting to know "Well to keep heading to Jasper of course" She replied "Right, and perhaps a game or two along the way" I suggested smiling "Maybe" Was all she said returning the smile. "Well I don't know about you but I'm going to sleep early" I said before walking to the back of the den we were in and laid down. "I agree, we can get on our way earlier as well too" She replied before laying down where she stood which was a few feet away from me, I closed my eyes and began to drift into sleep.

I woke up at what seemed to be a few hours later to feel that it was pretty cold inside the den which came to no surprise considering were in the mountains, but what did surprise me was seeing Kate shivering slightly a few feet away. I was going to wake her and ask if she was okay but I could obviously see she was cold and decided the only thing I could do was something I never thought I would do. I got up from my sleeping spot and walked over to her before laying back down putting my back up against hers to share our body heat. I closed my eyes once again just as I could hear her shivering stop, I couldn't help but smile as I fell back asleep.


	3. Truth Told

**A/N: Glad to hear you all like the story, here's chapter 3 as a reward.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

I opened my eyes to see that the sun had already risen outside, I began to stretch my body out when I pressed up against something soft. I turned my head around to see Kate sound asleep right next to me. I smiled before carefully getting up on my paws to not wake her. She always managed to look so beautiful even while sleeping and it made me smile. I decided to head outside to see what the day had in store for us, hopefully no storm is rolling in suddenly on us. I expected it to be mid-morning but to my surprise the sun had only just risen over the mountain peaks. The sky above was clear and cloudless and it looked like it was going to be a nice sunny day.

I walked over to lake shore which was a stone throw away from where we slept. I sat down and waited for Kate to wake up which knowing her she wouldn't be long being an early riser. I knew that today I had to tell her the truth of my feelings because Jasper was only a day away at most. We will be walking most of today and since Jasper is so close I expect her to be itching to get there quick for reasons I do not know. I began to wonder more on what could be so important, I knew I could easily ask which seemed like a good idea once she woke up. Before we got captured everything seemed fine to me in the pack, no abnormal violence, food shortages, or talks of war. Although why was an eastern wolf at a western moonlight howl? I've seen the eastern leader there before but not any other wolf. I was of course refereeing to Garth or 'Barf' as I like to call him since he 'tried' to howl with Kate that night.

He also seemed to already know Kate so maybe there's something going on here that I'm just not seeing. My thoughts were interrupted when I could hear something walking towards me, I looked over to see that it was Kate "Well you're up early" She said sitting next to me facing the frozen lake "Yeah decided to come out and look at the view early" I said "I don't blame you" She agreed.

I decided that now was a good time to ask her what was on my mind "So Kate I've been thinking, what's the reason you want to get home so fast? I can understand if you miss being there but there must be something else I'm not seeing." I said looking at her. She took a breath before answering my question "Well it's because if I don't get home by the end of this full moon our pack and the east will go to war." She said looking at me as well.

I was shocked, a war how can this be? I was going to ask just that but she did it for me "We have had issues with the east hunting in our territory as I'm sure you can figure out from watching my first hunt. And it's come to a point where if we don't find a way to unite as one pack we will go to war. This is where I come into this mess, you remember Garth right?" She continued, I nodded my head yes "Well we're so post to marry in order to unite as one pack and the wedding was so post happen yesterday. Meaning that yes our pack might be in a war as we speak..." She finished. I was speechless, I had no idea how to feel a whole new door had opened for me, our pack was going to be in war unless Kate married Garth meaning that she was taken. I was upset that she never told me and slightly angry at the leaders for doing something like this. My worst fear had become reality I didn't even get a chance to tell her how I felt and now it was pointless since she was going to be married as soon as we got home. A few moments of silence passed as I sat looking out at the lake thinking my life was over as I knew it.

"I don't even want to marry him, I barely even know him..." She said sadly. This puzzled me, she seemed so keen on getting home to marry him but at the same time she doesn't. I do recall from when we were in Idaho that she said it was about responsibilities which just must be why. She was forced to sacrifice her love life for the good of the packs, I've never heard of anything so cruel before. I felt so bad for her, and I was so deep in thought that I almost missed what she said next. "I want to marry you instead..." She quietly said looking down at the ground

it was at that very moment that time itself stood still 'Did she just say what I thought she just said?" My mind was suddenly on fire from going through so many emotions at once. "Marry me?" I asked looking at her making sure what I heard wasn't just my mind playing a trick on me. "Yes Humphrey you, I love you and would rather spend my life with you then with some wolf I don't know." She replied looking straight at me with tears in her eyes.

Once again I was lost for words, the wolf of my wildest dreams just said she loves me, ME! An omega that had no chance being with her. My heart felt like it was put back in place and on the inside I was jumping up and down with glee. It wasn't even me who said it first which was the biggest shock, all this time thinking of what to say and she beats me to it. I was silent this whole time and right when I was going to say I love you back she cut me off "But it can't be since their forcing me to marry him and you and I are different ranks." She said starting to cry. I wanted to cry as well we loved each other but we couldn't ever be together, what kind of harsh trick was that? It made me feel upset and angry inside that we were so close to being together yet so very far.

"I love you too" I finally replied after a prolong silence. She immediately pulled me into a hug which I gratefully returned happy that at least we could share this moment of love before heading back to Jasper. She pressed her face to my chest as she cried into it, all I could do was just hold her and shed a few tears of my own as well. After what seemed like ages of hugging I lifted her head up from my chest with my forepaw and pressed my nose against hers giving her the very first real kiss I've ever had. It felt amazing to be kissing with a wolf that I so dearly loved and so wished I could be with. A love that was not to be... It was at that very moment when I realized something. Maybe we could be together, but that would mean not returning to Jasper and living on our own.

It was a sacrifice I was willing to take to be with her, but was she willing to do the same? It all felt so sudden but unlike her I didn't have any family in Jasper just friends, I didn't expect her to agree with this idea. We pulled out of our kiss and looked into each other's eyes, I couldn't help but let a huge smile grow on my face which she returned as well. "Oh Humphrey, I wish we could be together... But now knowing you love me back is just going to make things harder on me once we get back home." She said sadly "But maybe we can be together" I said knowing that she could not agree to the idea I had in mind.

"What do you mean? Even if I didn't marry Garth we still can't be together because of pack law." She replied. "You're right, but what if we don't go back" I suggested "Are you saying we run away from Jasper?" She asked knowing where I was going "Yes and live on our own as mates" I said, it still felt so new to me to be saying 'mates'.

"But Humphrey what about my family and your friends, they are all wondering where we are and maybe in a war as well." She said just as I imagined "I know and it's something I'm willing to lose to be with you." I said "I understand if you say no, you actually have family there unlike me who was taken in." I was fostered into the pack by my parents who were lone wolves and wanted me to have a safe life in a pack. "This is all happening so fast that I just feel like falling down and doing nothing." She said still keeping eye contact with me.

As much as I wanted to be with her though my idea I didn't want to force it upon her, I would rather see her happy more than anything else. "I just want you to be happy, and if going home is where you want to be then I won't argue, I'll be happy if you are." I said "This is one of the reasons why I love you, you're so caring to other wolves and to me." She said which made me feel good inside "So what do you choose?" I asked.

She looked at me with a slick smile before giving me a quick kiss "Does that answer your question?" She replied smiling "I love you" I said back "I love you too, but we will go back to Jasper to let everyone know we're still alive in a week. As much of a hard decision you gave me I'd rather be with the guy I love then go home to be with family but marry someone I don't love." She said "As long as you're happy then I am always remember that" I said receiving a nod from her.

'Wow this has been one emotional trip of a morning' I thought to myself as we sat close and looked out into the frozen lake that we had been in front of for the past hour. In the end I'm glad that my dream has come true, Kate loves me back and we can be together. I couldn't be any happier right now and I was surprised that she actually chose to run away and be with me. But if she changed her mind I would still be there one hundred percent because I love her and always will.

"Well where should we go as a place to live" I asked starting to think of places "As much as this place right here is pretty I don't like the cold as I'm sure you noticed" She said raising her eyebrows at me referring to me sharing body heat with her last night "It was the best I could do to keep you warm" I said innocently lightly blushing "Hey I didn't say I didn't like it" She said, now knowing that she was just messing with me, all I did was smile to which she giggled.

"Anyway somewhere warmer would be nice like say at the bottom of these mountains wherever that is." She said "Yeah I agree so how about we head across the lake and see what we find on the other side of the mountains over there." I said pointing out with my forepaw. "Sounds great but not today, I'd like to spend our first day together, well, together. Although we've been together for the past days but you know what I mean. Besides that emotional trip we just took drained all my energy." She said resting her head against mine "Yeah same here" I said back.

We sat like that there for most of the day, just enjoying each other's presence. Honestly I still had trouble believing this was real life, here I was sitting with the wolf of my dreams and was in love. But it was all very real and I couldn't be any more happy. I wanted to punch myself for thinking we had no chance and yet here we are. As the day drew to a close we retired to our temporary den had another pair of squirrels before we cuddled up together for sleep, tails intertwined. I was excited for what was to come tomorrow, adventure.


	4. Happy Travels

**A/N: Looks like the two decided to head away from Jasper now in order to become mates. Let's see what life has in store for them today shall we?**

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_Humphrey's POV_

"Catch me if you can!" Said a playful Kate as I watched her run across the ice ahead of me. It was the start of a new day and we began it by heading out across the frozen lake. Since we confessed our love and came up with a plan to 'run away' from Jasper today we would be exploring for a place to call home. We had no idea what we would find on the other side of the mountains ahead but I hoped it was a decent place that provided food shelter and water. It was decided that as much as this current place was beautiful the bitter cold was something we didn't want to deal with. So we're headed out of the mountains to somewhere that was much warmer.

"Hey wait up!" I yelled out running to catch up with her, but as I learned before she could out run me. We were about halfway across the lake and passed the time by running and skidding on the ice trying to pin each other. It was fun because keeping enough grip to gain speed would end up in you eventually slipping and falling down. We had been playing this game ever since we discovered ices effect on our walking. "You're going to have to be a lot faster than that" She challenged. "Oh yeah?" I said back starting to run faster which to my surprise actually made me catch up. Soon I was right beside her and hadn't managed to slip on the ice yet, she looked back and got a shocked expression to see me right by her side.

I gave my run a little more power before I jumped sideways to pin down Kate, she started to shuffle her paws on the ice to dodge me but it was too late. I landed onto her and we landed with a thud on the ice.  
I knew we could easily break something doing this but it didn't feel as hard as you might expect to land on something as hard as stone. "Pinned ya!" I yelled before getting off of her, she began to laugh before getting back up. "You learn fast" She said, I smiled back at her "But now it's my turn" I immediately turned and ran knowing she would be hot on my tail in no time at all.

We continued this game until we reached the opposite shore of the lake and Kate ended up pinning me the most which I didn't mind. It was glad that we were having fun together along our journey instead of just walking. I let out a sigh of exhaustion as I walked up the lake shore with Kate beside me "Well I'm exhausted" I said sitting down just before the forest began "Come on, can't keep up with an alpha?" Kate teased sitting next to me. I smiled "Nope but after a short rest I'll be good to go." I replied, I looked up to the sky and saw that it was mid-morning. We had spent only an hour crossing the lake but the mountains ahead of us would take a good about of time to climb up. The goal by the end of the day was to just be on the other side of them to see what lay beyond. A few minutes passed before I felt rested enough to climb up the mountains.

"Alright good to go" I said getting up "Great now to climb up these" Kate said referring to the mountains. "At least it looks like we have to go over just one." I said thinking positive "Just think soon we'll find a place to call home for some time" I continued. "Yeah it's exciting, and not too far from Jasper either" She agreed, she was right if we found somewhere to live around here it would be no problem to head back to Jasper. It would still be only a day's walk to get there and I wouldn't mind visiting every month. Just as long as they didn't try to separate us when we do go back. I was slightly afraid by that but knowing that my mate just so happened to be the leader's daughter they wouldn't make us make us do that. I began to think about home more and more the further we walked up the mountain. Like Kate said they might be in a war as we speak unless they found some other way to unite as one. I couldn't help by feel bad for everyone there if they did go to war, the pack had been at peace for as long as I can remember and now it could of all turned around. But I asked Kate if she still wanted to go back and she said no in order to be with me. I did have a question on my mind now after thinking about this.

"Hey Kate do you think you're dad sent out wolves to find us?" I asked, it seemed like a good possibility due to the important role she had to play. "Well know my dad it wouldn't surprise me" She said "but if they tried to follow our scents they would find a humans as well. Even if they tried to follow the humans scent they wouldn't get very far." "He could of sent search parties to search the area around the territory" I suggested "Yeah but we're far enough away from them that they couldn't find us and if for some they did what's the worst they could do? Drag me home, well they would have to fight me first." She finished.

I smiled, she was willing to sacrifice so much just to be with me "That's the power of love" I said looking into her amber eyes "It makes us do amazing things" She added before we kissed. After a few seconds she playfully pushed me away "Now let's keep moving the faster over the mountain the better." She said, I smiled and gestured for her to take the lead continuing our trek upwards. I kept my mind busy thinking about many things, like my friends reaction to hear Kate and I were mates. How they so very doubted the chances of anything happening between us, I'm sure the look on their faces would be priceless. I'm sure the rest of the pack would be very surprised as well.

By the time we reached the top of the mountain it was midafternoon, it was a longer than expected hike up that I expected but the cold air made it not as strenuous. As we came over the crest of the mountain the view on the other ride revealed itself. Down below was a steep drop into another valley that was much deeper. Unlike the pervious one we just climbed out of this one didn't have snow at the bottom which was exactly what we were looking for. The mountains did a 'U' shape making up the valleys walls and a river could be seen winding its way out of the valley and over the distant horizon.

"Man just when you thought you've seen it all" I said sitting down surveying the lay of the land "Yeah, this looks like an amazing place to be." Kate agreed sitting next to me. "And there no s is either so that's a plus" I said. Upon closer look the forest ran uninterrupted across the valley floor except for the places the river ran, from the looks of it the river was a decent size too. The path down below us wasn't anything too bad considering going down is a whole lot easier and quicker than going up. The snow seemed to melt off about half way down meaning the valley should be plenty warm for us.

After sitting for and admiring the view I broke the silence between us wanting to get off the mountain. I wanted to see what it looked like up close and maybe even find our new place to call home. "We're not going to get anywhere sitting up here, come on let's head down." I said getting up and progressing down the mountain. "You're not going to sled down it?" Kate asked following behind me, as much as her idea sounded fun I was more worried about something going wrong. "It's pretty steep don't you think?" I commented looking back at her continuing downward.

"Says the wolf that fell off a cliff and saved me on a sled while escaping a bear." She added. "Yeah but that was forced upon, I'd rather not die over getting down this mountain." I said. "Good point" She agreed, the walk down the mountain went much quicker as expected. After an hour we passed the snow line entering a forest full of more life. Birds could be heard chirping above as I could feel my fur warming up in the sun above. "This is more like it" Kate commented from next to me.

"Yes much warmer and lively" I said, after some more walking the grade from the mountain flattened out. The forest became pretty dense, only a few spots of sunlight shone through. The trees and shrubs looked very much the same as the ones back in Jasper, but it wasn't as hilly. No large rocks either, just a regular forest having occasional clearings of tall grass. "How much farther do you want to go?" I asked "Hmm, how about we keep going until we hit the river?" She suggested. The river was a good place to start looking for somewhere to rest for the night. I didn't expect to find our actual new home just yet, it would be nice to search the forest before settling in. As long as we didn't run into any hostile packs we should be fine. "Yeah then we can find somewhere to sleep for the night before searching the forest to see what there is here." I agreed.

We continued walking further into the forest, the river shouldn't be too much farther ahead. Along the way we saw nothing special, no tall hills or jagged rocks. Jasper seemed like a diamond in the rough considering all that things we have just in our territory. There was of course the valley, an amazing sight where most of our food was hunted and a place to just hang out. Then there was the rocky mountain where we had all our moonlight howls, below that was a river where we got our drinking water. During the hot days of summer it became a great place to cool off. That pretty much summed up all we had in Jasper. I was excited to see if this place had anything special hidden in its dense flora.

I came out of my thoughts to see water glimmering from the sunlight above. Upon first glance it looked pretty small but once we came out of the tree and onto the bank it became a whole lot bigger. Judging by how wide it was it could maybe take a good minute of paddling just to get across. The water was passing by at a gentle speed making very little sound as it did. "Wow" I said walking up to the water and drank some in, it was nice and cold. Kate did the same as I sat down on the rivers bank "Biggest river I've ever seen" I added.

She sat down next to me before speaking "Yeah nice and cold too" She said. We sat for only a minute before suddenly hearing some voices, oddly enough it sounded like it was coming from above us. We both looked up and to my surprise I saw Marcel and Paddy flying above the river. "Marcel, Paddy!" Kate yelled out getting their attention, the two of the both stopped talking to each other and turned around to land next to us. "We've been looking for you two" Marcel said looking at us questionably "Jasper isn't this direction you know" Paddy added. "Well that's because we're not going to Jasper anymore" I said "What do you mean?" Marcel asked.

"We admitted our love for each other and since going to Jasper means not being together we've decided to live on our own now." I said "Why congratulations you two, might I say it's about damn time" Paddy said. Kate and I looked at each other and smiled before looking back at them "So I take it you're looking for a place to live here then?" Marcel asked "That's correct, but we do plan on going back to Jasper in five days or so." Kate said "That's great, this place sure seems nice and safe for you two" He said.

"Yeah we haven't fully explored the forest yet, in fact we just got here not too long ago when we saw you two flying above" I said "Well good luck too you two, I guess we'll see you in Jasper at the end of the week." Paddy said "Ah yes the course calls" Marcel added referring to that game called golf they like to play. "Goodbye, thanks for all the help you've given us" Kate said as we watched them take off back into the skies. I watched until they disappeared behind the trees on the opposite bank. "Come on, let's got catch us some food and look for a place to sleep for tonight." Kate suggested. "Right behind you" I said following her back into the forest, happy I was going to get to watch Kate hunt us some food.


	5. Stranger

**A/N: Bloop**

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_Humphrey's POV_

I was basking out in the sunshine of a meadow while Kate was out hunting. The sun was at its highest above with a few clouds blocking it every now and then. It's been two days since we found this forest that had no name, we found a den that we've been using as a home. It wasn't anything much, just a hole underneath a flat rock which became a good heat radiator during the nights. When we found the den it seemed to be made by another wolf but Kate smelled the area around it and found no signs of a wolfs scent or paw prints. Considering it abandoned or just a place for lone wolves to sleep a night before continuing on their journeys. We made it our own having to clean out leaves that had blown in from the outside. It was just enough room for two of us but nothing more unless you added on to it.

I was just a few hundred feet from our den on another rock that felt good to lie on. We hadn't been doing anything too special since we got here, the only main event that has happened was finding that den. Other than that the day consisted of eat, sleep, talk, and swim in the river. The river was also very close to the den, you could even hear the water during the quiet nights. A jump in the cool water was a great refresher after a long day. I decided I had enough of sitting in the sun as I began to pant from the heat. I had been sitting on the rock for the past hour or so after Kate left just relaxing. For once in a long time I got to sit around and not have to do anything, compared to being in Jasper. As much as everyone thinks being an omega is about fun and games all day and night, it really isn't. We also have to deal with pack arguments between both ranks alike and try to dispute them. It can become quite stressful, not that I was complaining I really did enjoy being one of the top omegas in the western pack. Making jokes and using odd ways to get the alphas to stop arguing like throwing Mooch on top of them, this worked most of the time.

That reminded me about Salty, Shakey and Mooch, I missed hanging with them doing log sledding or just telling jokes. I knew that I was going to see them again in a few days, I was really looking forward to it just as long as we weren't going to walk into a war when we got there. It was something I thought about every day ever since Kate told me, but I kept my thoughts positive about it. The two of us really didn't know anything just the possibility it could of happened, for all we know the two packs could have united by another way. I got up from my spot on the rock and jumped off it into the tall grass, I walked over to our den to sit in the shade. My stomach was near empty since we hadn't eaten for over a day, not that food was hard to find here according to Kate. She just wasn't in the mood to hunt yesterday and I don't blame her, she's the only provider for the two of us. I felt bad that she had to do all the work by herself so I did my best helping out with other things. Such as marking the den as ours or keeping watch for anything out of the ordinary passing by, whether it is other wolves, prey, or even humans. A human was the last thing I wanted to encounter in a place like this, I had been told since a very young age that Jasper was protected from hunters. This place however I wasn't sure about which is why I kept watch.

I walked into our small den and laid back down on the cool floor which felt good. I knew Kate couldn't be much longer since all her pervious hunts took just under two hours. And I was correct because ten minutes later I could hear her walk into the den. I rolled over to see her with a dead deer sitting in the entrance way "Wow that's enough food for a few days" I commented getting up and giving her a quick kiss. "Yeah looks like there more than just squirrels to eat here" She said, we had eaten nothing but squirrels and other small prey for some time so something like this was a big surprise. "Well it's not going to fit in here with us so come grab a piece before I drag it outside" She said.

I walked up to the deer and decided what piece I wanted to eat. A leg would fill me up well enough so that's what I ripped off while Kate took one for herself. I placed my leg on the ground and watched her drag the caucus out before returning a moment later. "So Humphrey since we're living together now I wanted to know if there's anything you wanted me to teach you" She said in between bites, it was as if she was a mind reader. I had been thinking about learning how to hunt so that it wasn't always her. This would also help us in the long run if we decided to have a family, but stuff that was to be worried about at a much later time. "Well I want to learn how to hunt so that it's not always you doing it." I said.

"I don't mind doing the hunting" She defended "You are an omega after all, but if that's what you want to do then I will teach you." We continued eating "Maybe you could just teach me all you know" I suggested, if she was going to train me, she might as well teach me all of it. "You mean teaching you what I learned in alpha school?" She asked, I nodded my head yes just finishing my deer leg. "Are you sure you want to do all that?" She asked, I was sure of it because it can help us survive if we're going to be lone wolves all of our lives. "Yes I'm sure, it can help us survive much easier if we can both hunt and defend ourselves." I said

"You're right, alright I'll teach you all the basics to being and alpha, hunting, fighting, leadership, all of it." She said finishing her meal as well. I smiled, for being an omega hunting had always interested me which is why some days I would watch the alphas do hunting back in Jasper for entertainment. I also watch them just in case any of them got hurt or got into a fight over someone scaring off the prey. "Anyone in there?" A suddenly called voice called before a wolf came peering into our den. Kate immediately spun around and took a defensive stance in front of me bearing her teeth at the stranger.

Upon first glance the wolf didn't seem very muscle toned like most alphas are so he might have been an omega. Their fur was grey like mine but didn't have any white to it, just a solid color and by the sound of their voice it was a male. "Whoa!" They said backing away a little "No need to get defensive I come in peace, I'm from a pack that isn't too far from here I just want to talk." Kate stayed in her defensive stance protecting me. I didn't blame her, as lone wolves you shouldn't trust other wolves until you know exactly who they are and why they're there. "What do you want?" Kate asked plainly, I sat back and listened to the conversation. At first when he said from a pack I thought he was from Jasper looking for us but he didn't look like any wolf I've seen in our pack. I also didn't expect Winston to send an omega to look for Kate and I.

"I come from a pack called the Willmore Pack" The wolf said "My name Cyrus and I have been sent by our leaders because we've had rumors of two wolves outside our borders. And turns out they were right, like I said I mean no harm I just wanted to tell you that you're both welcome to come into our pack if you so choose." This came odd to me, a pack that was openly accepting wolves into it? But it wasn't unheard of, I have been told of small packs near Jasper that were doing the same thing. Kate and I looked at each other before Cyrus spoke again "I'll give you two time to think, I will be right outside." He said before turning and walking outside.

Kate had a dumbfounded look on her face before she spoke "Okay, that was odd" She commented "Yeah random wolf is random" I joked but didn't receive a laugh from her "I don't know about you but I'm interested in this so called Willmore pack, considering they just invited us in. Plus I'm surprised we didn't run across it on our travels around this place." She said seriously "But don't you think it's strange that a pack wants wolves?" I added, I was surprised she didn't seem weary of going. "Not really, I mean a pack that wants more wolves is nothing new. Our pack even did it once but that was very long ago after a war happened." She said "Well if you trust what he says then I'll follow" I said. "I'm not saying I do, but if he claims there's a pack near us I want to see it. And if it doesn't look good or trusting then we can just not join or move away." She said. I had to agree it would be good knowing what's near us since we didn't see it when we looked around the forest. "Alright" I said "On the positive side being in a pack would be so much easier on us, not that I'm saying I don't like it being a lone wolves." She added.

"Yes it would be much easier" I agreed, I followed her out of the den where we found Cyrus sitting just outside. "Ah! So what have you decided on?" He asked looking at us "We're interested in seeing you're pack first, and then we'll decide about joining from there." Kate said. "Great follow me, it's just a short walk to the north" He said getting up and walking toward to the river. We turned and walked downstream along the rivers bank, I looked into the water and could see fish swimming along the bottom.

"Just as a future reference, if you want to find the pack just follow the river and it will bring you right to it. In fact we all live along its banks, so getting home isn't a problem for us." He said was we progressed "Alright" I said answering his advice, he looked at us "So I take it the two of you are mates?" He asked. "Yes we are, I'm Kate and this is Humphrey" Kate said, I was still adjusting to the reality that we were mates. "Nice to meet you two" He said before looking ahead. We continued walking, it's been ten minutes since we left our den and Cyrus said we were halfway there. Now it wasn't as surprising that we hadn't found the pack because it was farther then Kate and I looked in the area around our den.

The river took a bend and when we rounded that bend the forest opened into a large meadow where on the opposite end of it were mounds that looked like dens. I looked closer and could see the outline of wolves walking around but from the amount of dens I saw it didn't seem there were a lot of wolves in the pack. "That's our den and feeding grounds over there" He said pointing to the mound of dirt I saw "And most of our hunting is done right here in this meadow." The meadow was a large enough size for me to believe that. "Okay" Kate said next to me, a few short minutes later we walking into the den grounds where I counted eight wolves. Some were taking amongst each other and some were napping in the sun. As we passed by they smiled and waved 'hello' at Kate and I, I just smiled back seeing that they were all friendly. "Pretty friendly pack you got going on here" I said to Cyrus who smiled at the compliment "Thank you, since we're a small pack of twelve we all know each other pretty well." He said.

That was only half of the amount of wolves there was in the western pack back in Jasper. He led us up to a larger den that had to be the leaders considering its size, "Come, I'll introduce you to our leaders Jake and Susan" He said walking inside. We followed him in to find two wolves inside, one was grey furred but had a mix of black and looked male. The other wolf was brown furred and looked female, they both looked at Kate and I as we stopped and sat down next to Cyrus.

"Cyrus, I see you found the two wolves" The grey male said who must have been the one named Jake. "Yes sir this is Kate and Humphrey, their interested in seeing our pack and might possibly join." He said pointing at both of us when he said our names. "Hello my names Jake and this is my wife Susan, welcome to our pack." Jake said looking at us "Hello" Kate and I said "So where are you guys from? You must be new around here since we've never seen many outsiders sticking around these parts." He asked.

"We're wolves who used to be a part of a pack but we got relocated to elsewhere. We began to head back home but decided to become lone wolves instead." Kate said making our trip sound short and simple. "I see, what pack were you a part of?" He asked "The western pack in Jasper Park" She answered I nodded my head agreeing. "Get out of here! You're from Jasper?" He asked sounding surprised. "Yeah, you've heard of it?" I said "Yes your leader Winston and I talk from time to time, how is he doing anyway?" He said. I was surprised to hear that he knew Winston, Jasper was around just a day away so it made sense. "He's great, in fact he's my father" Kate responded sounding also surprised, "Oh yeah that's right I forgot he had two daughters, well it's a pleasure to have wolves from the west here." He said.

'Wow we're even respected here, this was a very interesting pack' I thought to myself. "Well enough talking in here, I'm sure your both eager to see what our pack has to offer. Come I'll give you the tour." He said before he and his mate got up and lead us out the den. "Small world" Kate said looking at me as we walked back outside "I'll say" I said following the two leaders as they began the tour.

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**A/N: Fun fact, Willmore Park is a real place just north of Jasper Park, yes if you didn't know Jasper Park is a real place but it looks nothing like it does in the movie. Sawtooth is also a real place and the movie does a better job of showing how it really looks, but it doesn't have a golf course. Okay geography class is over see ya in the next chapter.**


	6. A Plan

**A/N: Still putting out daily updates! Here's chapter six.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

Kate and I walked together following the two leaders of the Willmore Pack, listening as they told us about their pack. "I'm not sure if Cyrus told you anything but our pack only has twelve wolves including us. Eight alphas and four omegas, however our omegas were allowed to learn hunting if they so desired." Jake said as we passed by a few dens. "Why not just make them alphas?" Kate asked, I was curious about that as well. "When you run a small pack it helps to have most of your members able to do hunting in case something happens to the alphas. It's just something to fall back on, we don't put then in hunting parties unless they feel like hunting." He responded. "Interesting, you got this down to a science." She said

"Thank you, we try our best to keep our members happy." He said smiling from her compliment. We were now out of the den grounds and coming up to the river bank. "This is our river, it's nothing much but gives us water and a place to bathe in." Susan said "We also get fish to eat from it" Jake added. Fishing wolves, what kind of place is this? I thought to myself looking at the water, but I could see what they mean, fish were just swimming by every now and then. "You trained your wolves to fish?" Kate asked "Yes, but it's very hard to do so not many of us spend time doing it." He said.

The more we heard about this pack the odder and interesting it became, whoever heard of a pack that had little wolves but were trained how to fish and omegas could hunt. "What do you hunt as basic food?" I asked joining the conversation. "We hunt squirrels, deer and caribou, but mostly just deer." He replied. I wasn't sure what Kate was thinking but I liked this pack, it was small, friendly and I could still learn how to hunt or even become an alpha. That's when I realized a big problem with us joining, we were mate's different ranks. We might not be able to join because of that if they have a law against cross pairing, most pack had that law. I decided to save the question for last once we were done being showed around.

"We do our hunting on the opposite end of the meadow since most deer eat the grass there." Susan said pointing across the river to the rest of the meadow. "Luckily there's a fallen tree not too far upriver that we cross." I remembered seeing a large log acting as a bridge while Cyrus led us over here. We were all sitting on the soft dirt that lined the river side; I was occupied looking around at the view. Across the river the meadow soon ended turning back into forest before hitting snow caped mountains. The mountains wrapped all the way around in three directions, looking down the river lead into a much larger valley where you could barely see very distant mountains. It was a beautiful place, but Jasper had so much more and I didn't think anything could beat it.

"Well that's pretty much all we have here, our territory doesn't stretch far, just enough to claim all the meadow as ours." Jake said "Have any questions before we leave you two to decide?" Susan asked looking at Kate and I. "Yes, what are your laws?" Kate asked, I knew she had the same question on her mind as I did. "All the basic laws to keep things in order except the law keeping omegas from hunting, and there's no law against alphas and omegas being mates." He replied. What he said came as music to my ears, this meant we could join this pack with no problems at all. Kate and I looked at each other after he said this and smiled "I'm taking a guess that law is good news for you two" Susan said calmly. "Yes I'm an alpha and Humphrey is an omega." Kate said "Oh it makes since now, you two became lone wolves because going back to Jasper would mean separating." Jake said.

"Yes that's right" I said and Kate nodded next to me, "That's great, but I bet you miss home though." Susan said. "Yeah we both do, but I guess this is just how it's so post to be. We can visit though, there's nothing against that" Kate said. It was unfortunate but she was right we couldn't go home because of the law making us lone wolves by staying together. "Well we'll be in our den, come and tell us when you come up with a decision about joining." Jake said before he and his mate got up and began walking to the den grounds. Once they were out of earshot I decided to tell Kate what I think. After hearing what they said about there not being an alpha and omega couple law I came up with an idea for when we headed to Jasper to visit in a few days. If this pack could get rid of the law then why couldn't our old pack do the same? As much as I wanted to call this new pack home, if we could be accepted as a couple in Jasper then that would be WAY better. "So what are you thinking honey?" Kate asked looking at me. I couldn't help but smile, not just at the idea I had but also the fact she just called me honey for the first time. She returned the smile "I would like to join this pack, however I have a better idea and it concerns Jasper." I said. "You mean you want to go home and see if my parents would abolish the alpha and omega law?" She asked already knowing my idea somehow "Yes, you were thinking the same thing?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure if it would work but it's worth a shot since we'll be there soon." She said "And if it doesn't work then we can just come back here." I added. "Now you're thinking like an alpha" She said laughing, "What can I say, we can learn a lot from each other" I said laughing as well. "That's true" She said agreeing. The sun was beginning to set now as I looked over and could see a lot more wolves at the feeding grounds grabbing food for themselves. "So we join this pack for three days then we'll head for Jasper, sound good?" Kate said making a decision. "Sounds great to me" I replied excited that we just may be able to go back to Jasper. "Alright, come on let's go talk the Jake and Susan about it, I'm sure they will agree." She said.

We walked from the river and over to the leaders den where we found the two of them sitting outside, watching over their pack. "Good timing, dinner was just starting" Jake said pointing at all the wolves sitting down a few hundred feet away. "So what did you decide on?" "We decided that we want to join your pack, however it will only be for three days." Kate said. "And why's that?" He asked "Well after hearing that you abolished the alpha and omega rule it gave us an idea." I said "We wanted to try and get our pack back in Jasper to do the same thing so we could live together there." Kate said "And if it doesn't work out we would come back here and be a part of the pack full time." I finished.

"Alright that's fine, family always come first, and if it doesn't work out then of course you're allowed to come back. Welcome to the pack" He said. "Thanks again, it'll be much easier on us since were not on our own." Kate said. "Anytime, now let's introduce you to the rest of the pack." Susan said as they got up and walked over to the feeding grounds with us following. All the wolves were looking at Kate and I as we walked up and stopped. They were all in a semi-circle and were all talking amongst each other until we walked up.

"Everyone this is Kate and Humphrey, they will be staying with us for the next few days until they will move on to get to their former pack. They come from the western pack in Jasper as I'm sure you've all heard of, so please welcome them in over dinner." Jake said. All the wolves said hello to us, the only wolf I recognized was Cyrus who was sitting in the middle. We said hello back before we grabbed some food to eat. We walked back over to the group and sat with the other wolves who were all giving their attention their leader. I listened in on what he was talking about as did Kate "As for a schedule of tomorrows duty's it will be the same as today's was. Two hunting party's will go out at different times, a patrol party will go around as well. If any of you omegas want to hunt tomorrow then please speak to hunting leaders. As for you Kate and Humphrey feel free to help out where you see fit, but you don't have to if you so choose." Jake said looking at the two of us when he mentioned us.

We both nodded before I began to eat my dinner which was just a squirrel since I already had enough food for one day. All the pack wolves went back to talking to each other while they ate as well. Kate and I talked to ourselves during this "Life feels like it going so fast ever since we left Jasper" I said striking a conversation. "Yeah, once we get back home and talk to my parents about our love and abolishing the law life will slow down to normal." She said. "Then we can just spend our lives together and having fun" I commented. She laughed "Of course" She said with a smile.

I smiled too, excited about our future together, and what things life will bring to us. "Do you still want to learn how to hunt if we return home?" She said in a more serious tone. If we did return to Jasper then I didn't have to do the training but I knew I still could and I still wanted to. "I would still like to train, maybe even become an alpha." I replied. "Alright we will talk to my parents about that also, I'm sure he'll allow me to train you." She said, I smiled and said "Good". We had finished our food and I looked around to see everyone else was doing the same. I watched Cyrus make his way out of the group and stand in front of us like Jake did about ten minutes ago. All the wolves looked at him like they knew why he was standing there, however I did not.

"Alright everyone, as you know it's that time of the week where I share some new jokes with you. But first I would just like to say welcome to the two new members." He said before looking at us. Some of the pack cheered for us before he continued "So I only got two jokes for you this week but if any of you omegas or even alphas got any, feel free to share too." He said, an omega doing standup during the pack dinner sounded like a cool idea. I sat eager to hear what kind of jokes he had "First one, what do you call an alpha who's lazy?" He said looking at the group, I've actually heard this one before surprisingly. I was expecting different packs to have different joke but I guess they spread through each other. The group all looking at each other seeing if someone knew but I think I was the only one but I didn't want to say I did. "An omega" He said (A/N: Bad jokes I know, I know) a few of the wolves laughed but not as many as I expected.

"No? Alright that one's scraped, next one, what do you call a lost wolf?" He said looking at the group again, I didn't know this one this time. "A where-wolf" He finished, a lot more wolves laughed this time including Kate and I. "Well that's all I've come up with this time, anyone got any they'd like to share with us?" He asked. No one spoke up but he did turn to me "How about you Humphrey, got any good western jokes you'd like to tell?" He asked me. I smiled "I suppose I got a few" I said getting up and joining by his side. The entire group looked at me eager to see what jokes I had to tell. I decided to tell the two good ones I knew for a while to satisfy them.

"Hello" I said looking back at the crowd, I've ever had this many wolves all wanting to hear my jokes at once. A few said hello back before I began the first joke. "So I have a question and maybe you could help me with it. I've always noticed that parties start at night and I was wondering why that was, do you guys know?" I said telling the first joke, I was expecting to get a whole bunch of answers but surprisingly they all waited for me to finish. "Well here's the answer, it's because they have a howling good time." I said and the group laugh 'Good they haven't heard that one before' I thought to myself. I already had the next joke ready to go in my head "How do wolves eat their food?" I asked looking at them. Once again they waited for me to finish "They wolf it down" I said. Again they laughed and I just smiled back before Cyrus spoke from next to me.

"Great jokes Humphrey, and that will conclude the joke telling for this week" He said before I walked back over to Kate hearing the group cheer. Kate was smiling at me before she spoke to me "Great job!" She said as I sat next to her. "It was nothing, telling jokes is just a part of my nature" I said. The group went back to talking and a few left to head to their dens but the two of us stayed and to each other. After a bit Jake walked up to us making us stop talking to see what he had to say. "I just wanted to tell you can sleep in the den at the end over there" He said pointing down the row of dens where I could the one he was pointing to. "Thank you" Kate said "Don't mention it, goodnight" He replied before turning and waking away.

"Goodnight" We said back "I suppose we should head to sleep as well huh?" I asked looking back at Kate "Alright" She said. We got up and walked over to the den, it was the same size as all the others and was big enough for more than just two wolves. We laid down together before falling asleep ready for the next days here in this pack.


	7. Training Day

**A/N: A filler chapter for you before the days of getting back to Jasper begin.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

"Remind again me why we are doing this now?" I asked Kate as we walked away from the Willmore Pack. "Because since we got nothing better to do I decided we can begin your hunting training" She replied stopping on the river bank. "Yeah I understand that but why do we have to be out here so early?" I asked "If you're going to be an alpha then you got to start getting used to getting up early" She replied "Besides the morning is a good time to hunt, you can hear and smell the prey better." "Alright, you're the teacher" I said following her across the log that linked the two sides of the river.

It's been two days since we got accepted into this little pack. Things remained the same as they were before but Kate did go out and help the pack with hunting a few times. I told her she didn't have to do things for the pack but she insisted, saying it's a way of showing our gratitude. During the times she was gone hunting I kept myself occupied by walking around or just laying out in the sun. I didn't talk to many of the wolves in the pack since we got here and it didn't bother me either. Making new friends here might not be a good idea considering we were leaving tomorrow. Because if Kate and I got that law abolished then we wouldn't come back here meaning possibly losing a new friend as quick as you met them. Cyrus and the leaders were the only ones who I talked to besides Kate since we got here, however I'm sure Kate talked to more since she went out with the hunting groups. Another thing we did was just yesterday, we went out for a night walk in the moonlight. Just the two of us spending time together, the way I liked it. We ended up finding a nice tall hill in a clearing where we howled for the second time. It was just as amazing as it was on the train and had no hint of getting old ever. It was late when we got back which is why I wasn't too excited about getting up and training early today. But I knew in the long run it will be very much worth it, I'll be able to hunt and even protect Kate if the time came necessary.

I came out of my thoughts to see that we were already on the other side of the river and at the end of the meadow. This was where the pack did there hunting from what I heard so it made since to train here. Kate spotted a rock just on the edge of the forest and walked towards it. She jumped on top of it turned to face me as I sat down on the grass below the rock. "I'm no teacher but I'll do my best, today I'm going to teach you the basic moves you need to know and put them in practice." She said looking down at me. Her voice had become much serious as I listened to her talk "Were going to start with stalking first as I'm sure you've seen plenty of times." She continued, I nodded my head before she jumped down to where I was.

"Follow my lead" She said as she squatted her body down a bit to the ground making a stalking stance. I mirrored what she did and found that my legs wobbled a bit from the strain I could feel being in this posture. "You got it, after some time the wobbling will go away as you get better at it. For now just do the best you can" She said. I was expecting her to keep a serious 'do as I say' tone to her voice but now it sounded soothing. I continued to hold the pose standing still, the shaking of my legs hadn't gone away like she said. A minute had past as we both stayed still until she began to walk circles around me in the stalking form. I watched her go around a few times until she spoke "Now try walking around while holding the stalking position like I am" She said stopping next to me. "Okay" I said beginning to walk a large circle around the rock, I could already feel my legs burning from being in this pose but as I walked around it went away surprisingly.

Kate was walking normally by my side as we went "It's key to be as light on your paws as possible, at the same time you also want to stay firm like a rock. The quieter you are the less likely you are going to be heard by the prey. If done right the prey won't hear you until it's too late which is what you want." She said. There was a lot more to hunting then what meets the eye, stalking looked simple enough to do however it requires a good concentration. Right now we were walking on dirt and grass which didn't make much sound to walk on in general. I did my best to and stay light on my paws which at first didn't my stalking any quieter. "Let's do a few laps around this rock before we move on." She said stalking now as well next to me. After five laps Kate stopped got back on top of the rock, and I again sat below her waiting for what I would learn next.

"Next I'll tell you about how using the wind and camouflage can help you be undetected even further. Most prey relies on their sense of smell as much as they do on their eyes. So tricking both of their senses can help you get up to your target. One easy way to hunt is to stay down wind of your target at all times, this will keep them from smelling you and running off." She said. The more she told me the more and more complex it became to be, I felt I was in for a long couple months of training. "That's not all you can do to cover your scent, rolling in the dirt or mud will cover your scent as well. As for staying unseen, tall grass like this works great, moving slowly around also helps. If you're in a forest then find bushes or hide behind tree's to maintain cover." She finished. "This is a lot more complex than it looks" I commented looking up at her "Not many realize it is when they come into alpha school, luckily you don't have to go through such a thing." She said.

"Yeah I'm lucky to have my own mate as my teacher" I said smiling. She smiled back, time was flying by because the sun was already straight above us. "Alright last lesson, I'll teach you how to pounce and go for the kill. There's still a lot more to cover but I figured we'll just take it slow." She said coming down to where I sat in the grass. "Obviously every wolf knows how to kill an animal by going for the throat, but getting there is the part to learn. When you pounce you need to watch for things that can bring harm to you, such as legs and antlers. Get on the wrong side of one of those and you'll be lucky to be alive afterword. Since it's just you and me I will be your target for this lesson and the ones to come." She said. "Are you sure?" I asked, honestly I didn't want to hurt her over learning how to hunt. "Of course, I'm an alpha I can take a few good hard hits" She said confidently.

"Alright" I said, she began to circle me and I got the idea that she wanted to get into a fighting circle. We went in a circle following one another looking at each other. "How about you just do your best pounce on me and we'll start from that. Remember surprise is key to any successful hunt." She said. "I don't want to hurt you though" I said, she gave me a confused glance "I told you Humph-" She didn't get to finish her sentence because little did she know I said that to distract her so I could pounce onto her. She yelled out in surprise as I landed onto her pinning her down "Remember surprise is key to any successful hunt" I said on top of her saying the same thing as she just said. "Well you are a good listener, you tricked me that time" She said before I got off her letting her get back up on her paws.

"Now let's practice trying to pounce while the target, being me, will counter your attack." She said "I'll stand here and you go when you're ready" She stood a few feet away from me as I paced back and forth in front of her. All that she's told me was going through my head, with her being a trained alpha I would still have rely on surprise if I was going to get her again. She stayed facing me as I paced, after about a minute of this I decided to go for a jump. I quickly turned and pounced at her, however she swiftly stepped to the side. This made me fly past her and land on to the grass were she once stood. "You're going to need to be more creative with your surprise than that" She said hinting that I needed to try harder. I continued my pounces at her but they all ended up the same with me landing on the grass. I was now on my sixth attempt but I began to think about approaching at her differently. Every time I jumped she just side stepped over to either side of where I struck, this gave me a new idea. If all she was doing was this then I could jump at her from an angle and plan ahead for her dodge.

I tried to get on her side before she was able to turn and face me again, eventually I saw my moment to strike again. I jumped at her side and found myself landing on top of her pinning her finally. "There you go, now do it again." She said as I got off of her. This pounce practice went on for another hour until I managed to pin her a total of sixteen times. It got me to think about what the target might do when I jumped at it, compensating your jump for this helped you greatly. Kate decided to call it quits for the day training wise and suggested we go for a walk in the woods. I of course wouldn't turn down an offer like that and followed by her side. I reflected on what she taught me today and surprisingly it was a lot more than I expected we do in one day. It also wasn't anything that wore me out too badly, I was enjoying training so far.

We had been walking silently together for the past fifteen minutes just enjoying each other's presence. I decided though that I had enough of the silence between us. "Thank you for training me Kate, I'm actually enjoying it so far" I said looking at her as we walked. "I'm glad but there's no need to thank me, training you just gives me an excuse to spend alone time with you." She replied smiling at me. I smiled back "You can get alone time with me anytime you want you know?" I said. "I know" She said, we continued walking but were now heading back to the den grounds which wasn't too far away. A few moments passed before I thought of something to talk about "So I'm curious what was alpha school like anyway?" I asked since she earlier said I was lucky to not have to go to that. "Well it's very strict and it was very tiring from having to train and learn all day about not only hunting, but fighting and leading as well. Sure there were fun times but it's nothing you'd think about in a happy mood. In the end you think back and just be happy that it's over and you're now an alpha for your pack." She replied. "Now I'm really glad I have you teaching me" I said, she laughed "Yeah, and how was Jasper while I was gone." She then asked.

"At first I missed having you around to play games with but I soon found myself passing the time during your absence with my three friends Salty, Shakey and Mooch. Your sister also joined us in playing games and hanging out, but all in all that winter passed by pretty slow." I responded "Yeah it was slow for me as well, I didn't get to make many friends while at school and that was mostly because I was focused on learning. Since I'm sure you know that I would lead the pack eventually so I trained a bit harder for when that day comes." She said. This reminded me about that, if we ended up not going back to Jasper for good then Kate's family would have no one to lead. I didn't think Lilly would take up that spot since she was an omega. "Does that mean if we live back in Jasper you and I will eventually become the leaders?" I asked, it was funny to me that I had forgotten about that. Come on! Me a pack leader? Never... "Yes it would but I would be the main leader and you would be secondary just like my parents." She replied, I laughed "Woo me as a leader, that just sounds like a bad dream. But I would be up for it after some time of learning how to lead" I said. She smiled "I'm sure you would be great once you're trained to be an alpha and get some experience leading." She said.

By now Kate and I had just arrived in the den grounds of the pack, it was midafternoon now and a few wolves were here. I figured the rest were out doing pack duty's for the day. I suggested we get some food since we hadn't had any today, she gladly agreed. The rest of the day after we ate consisted of us sitting in our den before attending the pack dinner that was held every night. Many wolves shared stories about the travels and experiences they had during their lives and I got to say that some of their stories are pretty interesting. After the dinner we retired for our final night in this pack, tomorrow we will be Jasper bound to see for ourselves what we had missed in the week since we got relocated. I had no idea what to expect but I just hoped that nothing too bad happened in our absence.


	8. Jasper Bound

_Humphrey's POV_

"Humphrey" I faintly heard a voice call, at first I thought I was just dreaming but then it called again "Humphrey get up" It said again. I felt something pushing my side and opened my eyes to see Kate pushing my side with her paw. "Ah! It's about time" She said getting up on her paws and backing away. I got up and stretched before looking to see that there was sunlight outside. At first I was wondering why Kate was waking me up early again but then I remembered. Today is the day we head back to Jasper and see what we've missed during our absence. "Mornin Hon" I said giving her a kiss which she returned "Glad to see you so lively this morning" She replied smiling. "So are you ready to head to Jasper?" "Of course" I said. "Alright then let's start moving, we can get there by nightfall if we move fast" She said.

"What's the rush? We'll get there when we get there" I said "I know but I really just want to get back and see what has happened, hopefully nothing." She said. "Okay I understand I'm anxious about getting back too." I said. "As long as we keep walking we can get there at a decent time" She said before turning and walking out of the den. I followed her out to see that the sun was just shining over the distant mountains, there was also a good amount of clouds in the sky above. I looked around the den grounds and didn't see any wolves outside yet, however when I looked in front of Kate I could see Jake standing outside his den. We came up to him and stopped "Heading out?" He asked "Yes, thank you for everything" Kate said. "Anytime, good luck on your travels and maybe we'll see each other again." He said. "That would be nice" I said before I followed Kate as we headed towards the river.

"Oh and tell Winston I said hello" He said behind us "Will do" She replied. Soon we were away from the dens and alongside the river. We turned to the south and followed the river upstream, having the river helped with traveling because you didn't have to go around obstacles like trees. The river seemed very calm today, the water only gave a light ripple as it passed by. It gave the morning a peaceful feeling since it was so quiet around. "It's a nice day today" I commented after a few minutes of walking along the water. "Yeah good day to travel, the cold air feels good too" She said next to me. She was right there was a light breeze passing through the tree tops and our fur. It felt good and I hoped it lasted all day, traveling in the heat is not something anyone enjoys. "Though those clouds above look like rain clouds" She said looking up where you could see a few thick clouds hanging above the mountains.

They were right in our path to get to Jasper "Yeah hopefully there not, traveling in the rain isn't fun as we've found out before." I said referring to when I had to save her from the raging flash flood in a thunderstorm. "Yeah and who's fault was that?" She asked looking at me "Hey I had to go, can't stop it" I replied quickly. She laughed "I know, I'm only kidding" She said. I laughed as well "And who had to end up saving you?" I asked looking back at her. "Alright I'll admit that if it wasn't for you're crazy way of saving me I wouldn't be here right now." She said. I smiled "And I'm glad you are here" I said, she smiled back after I said that. We resumed on our walking to see that the view was no different than when we got to the river. The mountains were slowly getting closer but the forest around remained the same. This began to bore me eventually and I drifted into my thoughts.

I was thinking about what to do to pass the time until we hit the mountains where things became more interesting. A game would be the best but it had to be one that could be played on the move, luckily I had one come to mind. It had been over an hour since we left the pack territory and hopefully this game will make the next hours go by faster. "Hey Kate want to play a game?" I asked as we walked "Can we still keep moving while we play this game?" She asked. "Yes you need to be moving to play it well anyway." I said. "Alright what did you want to play?" She asked. "It's called I spy" I replied, she looked at me after I told her. "Never heard of it, how do you play?" She said, I was surprised that she never heard of it but then again she was an alpha that usually had no town for game back home. "It's really simple, you look for a visible object around you and give a hint as to what it is. I'll try to guess it and I can either give up or if I get it then it's my turn." I told her "Okay sounds fun" She said.

"Great I'll go first making you the guesser" I said, I looked around at what lay ahead of us. I decided to start with something easy to get her warmed up. I then saw a red flower that was near us and went with that as my pick. "I spy something that's red" I said looking around me so she wouldn't figure it out right away. "Hmm..." She said beginning to look around as we walked. "Is it the berries on that bush?" She asked. "Nope" Was all I said watching her look for something else "How about that flower?" She then asked. She got it much faster than I anticipated "That's correct, your turn now" I said. I watched her look around before she looked back at me "I spy something that's round" She said. I began to scan in front of us for round things, I decided to start with the most obvious "The sun?" I asked. She shook her head no before I searched for another round thing, I then saw a tree stump. "The tree stump?" I asked looking back at her "Rounder than that" She said giving me somewhat of a new hint. That's when I saw rocks sitting out in the river, they were very round looking "It's the rocks in the water over there" I asked pointing with my forepaw. "You got it!" She said, our game of I spy lasted much longer then I thought. We were still playing it was we began up the mountain slopes, each of us getting more clever with our choices. For some we had to give up on and we ended making up a new rule that you couldn't guess anything that was behind us. Kate was really enjoying herself as we played, it felt great to get our minds off of wondering about Jasper and just to talk and play games together.

After a very long almost three hours of playing I spy we decided that we had enough playing and just walked silently through the mountains together. The ground was covered in snow and it looked just like when Kate and I got off of the train. The trees were few and far between as we passed them, the air had also gotten much colder due to the high altitude. We were now under the clouds that we saw from down at the river. Luckily they were just only that, clouds that looked like rain but really weren't. You couldn't see the sun that shone above the clouds but you could tell that it's was almost at its highest for the day. This meant that we should be almost half way to Jasper and I could believe that considering how far we have gone so far. It had to be a few miles or more for sure, and Kate had on her mind what I was just thinking about. "Are you getting hungry?" She asked as we walked through the soft cold snow. "Yeah are you?" I replied asking her as well "Yes" She said.

"Let's keep an eye out for food was we walk and maybe we could even stop and I can look in the area" She said. "Whatever works for you with be find with me, I'll look for any signs of prey" I said "Alright, we'll continue for ten minutes then we'll stop and I'll go hunting for some simple food to carry us over." She said making a plan. "Okay" I said as we continued to walk while we both looked around for food. I stayed behind her in case she took off running after potential food. We rounded a corner along a mountain side and my eyes met something that I've never seen before. It was tall with dark brown fur and dwarfed us both, it looked like a caribou but it was much bigger. We stopped and I followed Kate as she quickly got behind a bush for cover. "What is that thing?" I asked seeing if she knew "It's called a moose, there rare and hard to hunt down" She replied. I looked back at the so called 'moose' and examined it further, it was grazing on some pine needles appearing too had never spotted us.

"Suppose we could eat it?" I asked hoping that we could and be back on the move quickly afterword. She seemed to be thinking about what I said for a minute before she responded "Well considering it's a female moose it would be easier to take down, but against only one wolf it will be a real challenge." She said looking at me. "I would say let's not risk me getting hurt and move on and find something else to eat." "I agree" I said. We came out from our spot behind the bush and walked past the creature, surprisingly it still paid no attention to us. "That's odd how it didn't run away from us like most animals do" I said as we continued searching. "Yeah I guess it knows we couldn't kill it without having a good fight." She said. It had been over twenty minutes since we started looking for food. Right when we were going to stop search the area for food I spotted three squirrels to my left. I pushed my elbow against Kate and pointed to the squirrels "Finally some easy prey" She said as we stopped to hide behind a large tree. "Okay we only need two at best, you go for one and I'll go for one" She said

I looked at her confused "But I'm not fully trained to hunt" I said "That doesn't mean you can't kill something, just remember what I taught you yesterday. Also the snow gives you an advantage because they can't hear your steps." She said looking at me. I nodded and she motioned for me to go first, I walked out from behind the tree and stalked behind another one. This continued from tree to tree as I got closer to the animals, I looked out to see that they were busy eating some pinecones. I looked back at Kate who was behind the next tree over gesturing for me to attack. Thinking about how to approach with my pounce all I came up with was to just run out and hope for the best. I got down low to the ground before running at the prey, I was already right on top of then before they noticed the disturbance I caused. Remember what she said I jumped and landed on top of one of the squirrels. I looked down to see that the animal was lying motionless under me 'Wow I just got my first kill' I thought to myself. By the time I collected myself and looked for where Kate was she was next to me with her own squirrel. "Excellent work!" She exclaimed "But you haven't killed it, your impact from landing on it only knocked it out." She dropped her catch and walked up to mine where she preceded break its neck with her paws. This made a popping sound before she placed it back down in front of me.

"Huh, never thought I would actually kill something so soon" I said as we began to eat our meal. "It doesn't take much to learn how to kill something, especially when it comes to these things." She said referring to the squirrels. "I have a satisfied feeling for some reason right now" I said, she laughed "Yeah I had that same feeling after my first kill" She said. We soon finished our food and got back to walking towards Jasper. It was now early afternoon and the clouds above were breaking apart letting out the sun. We were mostly silent as we looked around at the mountains we were passing in between. It wasn't as strenuous as I thought it would be there seemed to be a perfect path through the range allowing easy traveling. The air was cold and there was a breeze pushing from behind, luckily the sun above was keeping me warm.

A few hours had passed with Kate and I playing a few games to pass the time, we were really enjoying it. The sun was getting close to setting giving the mountains an orange glow to them. Then after we rounded a hillside our eyes saw something that was all too familiar. The mountain range we had been crossing for most of the day abruptly ended and dropped down into a valley. A valley we had called home for all of our lives, it was Jasper Park, we stopped and looked out over the view. The actual valley where the western and eastern packs were located was still a good distance away. But you had a clear view of it from where Kate and I sat, by the looks of things we still had maybe two hour until we got there. "There it is" She said looking out at it "Yeah, almost there" I said it would already be dark by the time we got there since the sun was setting. "Just a couple more hours and we'll see what we've missed after a week." She said. "And get bombarded with questions of where we've been" I added, she laughed "Yup, lots of explaining is going to have to be done tomorrow" She said. We remained sitting there on the snow looking out over the valley. My eyes wandered around the land below and I suddenly saw something I didn't expect to see near Jasper. It looked like a town for humans that was down in the valley as well, but it was many miles from where we lived in the packs.

"Do you see that?" I asked Kate pointed out to the town, she looked. "Huh didn't know humans lived that close" She said sounded just as surprised as I was. "Yeah, good to know" I agreed. "Come on, were not going to get anywhere if we sit here and look." She said getting up and proceeding down the mountain. I ran to catch up by her side as our ever long travels would come to a close soon. Going down the mountain was fast, we were practically running down the slope. The snow began to disappear as we got further down and soon we met with the valleys floor. What remained ahead was a walk over small hills until we hit the next valley, the valley we called home. It was already dark as we walked through the woods, the moonlight from above allowed us to see well. There were no clouds from what I could see and all I did see above we're the stars.

If I had to choose between day and night I would go with night because everything just looks so much more amazing in the dark. The moonlight also helped, as a pup I spent some of my nights outside and looking up at the stars wondering why they were there. No one I asked seemed to know why but what I did know was that they were great to look at. I was brought out of my thoughts to see that over an hour had already passed by. I noticed that we were walking up yet another hill, as we came up to the tops of each one I expected to see the valley but it only lead to seeing another hill to go over. However as we reached the top of this one I saw the place we had been walking to get to all day. The valley where I played in as a pup stretched out in front of us. From the look of things nothing had changed at all since the last time I saw it. We were at the opposite end of it from the western pack den grounds meaning we had about a half hour until we got there.

"Looks just the same as when we left it" I said as we continued to walk alongside the rim. "Yeah no signs of any changes from what I can see" She agreed. This made me feel good because just maybe nothing had happened between the two packs. I was right in my estimate because about a half hour later we already entered the western territory. I began to see all the things that I enjoyed about this place. Not much later after that Kate and I arrived at the den grounds to see not a single wolf outside. This didn't surprise me because it was already night and the only ones who would be up right now would be the night patrol parties. "Where are we going to sleep, I really don't feel like staying up to tell my parents were back." She asked me. "We can sleep in my den, and we don't have to go walking though the den grounds to get to it." I suggested "In fact it's right there" I pointed at the dark opening under a tree that I had called home since I was brought into this pack. As we walked up to it I stopped and looked out over the den grounds and could see no signs of a war happening. "What is it?" She asked stopping next to me "Nothing, just it looks like nothing has happened conflict wise" I replied.

"Yeah looks just as peaceful here as it always is" She agreed. I turned and walked into my den with her following soon behind. "Now to get some sleep before the long day we'll have tomorrow" I said lying down. "Yes we're going to need it" She said lying right next to me "I love you Humphrey" She said giving me a kiss. "I love you too Kate" I said smiling "Hopefully we can work out the 'pack law' situation as well" She said smiling back. "Yeah" I said agreeing before I drifted off into sleep thinking about what is to come tomorrow.

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**A/N: Well that chapter ran on longer than I expected, but now Kate and Humphrey are finally back in Jasper after a long week of running all over the place. Cya in the next chapter!**


	9. Welcome Home?

**A/N: Let's see how the couple's first day back in Jasper played out.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

I woke up as quickly as I fell asleep to find that the sun was shining bringing light into my den. I gathered my thoughts to see that Kate was sound asleep next to me. I didn't know why I kept getting up before her, normally she was up and active before I even awoke. I guess it was the fact that we hadn't been in a pack for the past week meaning she just slept in. It felt like I had only been sleeping for a few minutes but at the same time I felt so energetic form getting a good sleep. I decided to leave my den, that was now ours, and see what was happening this early in the morning. I knew once Kate got up she would want to head to her parents den so I would play it low key until she got up. I knew I should tell my friends Salty, Shakey and Mooch that I was back and the seemed like something to do right now. When I walked out of the den I could see a few wolves walking around but none that stuck my eye. For being a top omega in the pack I was pretty unknown to most other wolves which I didn't mind, I kept to myself anyway. I began to wonder where I would find any of my friends and decided their dens would be the best option. Salty lived near me in his own den so I headed to his first to see if he was up.

It looked to be an hour since the sun had risen and most of the pack was already up and alive. Much to my relief they all looked one hundred percent healthy and suited no scars from what I could see. This meant that something else had taken place that wasn't a war, maybe the two packs joined by a different way. I couldn't think of a way how else that could be done but I did know that once Kate and I talked to her parents we would get all the answers. For now I focused on talking to my friends and seeing what was new with them since I left. I may have only been away for a week but a lot can change in that time. Such as Kate and I going from two opposites who never spoke regularly to mates that loved each other and worked as a team.

I passed a couple dens before I reached Salty's, his den was much smaller than mine which worked for him since he lived alone. At least for now he did, I know he has the hot's for a few omegas in the pack. I stopped next to the entrance before I called in to see if he was inside. "Hey Salty you there?" I called not looking inside until told so "Just a minute" I groggy voice responded that I recognized as his. It was obvious that I had woken him up but I knew he wouldn't care when he found out I was back. A minute later he came walking outside and looked at me, it took him another minute to collect his mind up to realize who I was. "Humphrey! You're back" He suddenly said sitting down, I sat down as well "Yeah I am" I responded smiling. We sat silent before I spoke again "Wait if you're back then where's Kate? She's missing too and the whole pack has been looking for her." He said. Kate was right about her dad looking for her "She's asleep in my den, it's a long story but we got taken away from here and it took us all that time just to get back here." I said answering his question. "Woah, woah timeout! Kate's sleeping in your den?" He suddenly said looking at me strangely.

"Yeah she is what's wrong with that?" I asked knowing I had to tell him sooner or later. "Dude, if her mother finds out about that you're going to be a dead wolf." He said. "Kate wouldn't let that happen to me" I said knowing I didn't really have to fear her mother's overprotectiveness (A/N: Is that even a word?). "What do you mean?" He asked still looking at me like I had lost my mind. "Like I said it's a long story, but Kate and I are mates now" I said making sure that no one was around to hear me say it. "What!?" He loudly said but luckily no one seemed to care about the sudden outburst and continued on what they were doing. I couldn't help but laugh from how he was reacting to this. "I know you heard me" I said "But... How? What about the law?" He said. "I'm sure we'll end up telling the whole pack about why we disappeared later today, so I will make sense after that." I said. "It better, because right now you sound like you've lost your mind and gone mad." He said. I laughed again "Yeah maybe I have, but seriously keep it on the 'hush hush' until the rest of the pack knows. And yes you can tell Shakey and Mooch but no one else, got it?" I asked.

"Got it" He replied "Good, well I'll see you later, Kate and I got a lot of explaining to do to Winston and Eve and the rest of the pack." I said. I knew I could ask him about the eastern pack situation but it was pointless when I'll find out soon anyway. I left from his den and headed back to my own to see if Kate was up, by now she should be considering it the sunlight would wake her eventually. When I arrived it looked like she was still asleep but as soon as I walked inside she rolled over to face me. "Good morning" I said sitting down "Good morning, already out I see" She said getting up on her paws. "Yes, I went out and talked to Salty and now I've gone mad according to him." I said, she let out a small laugh "Did you tell him about us?" She asked. "Yeah his reaction was priceless" I said "I bet, and that won't be the last of then today for sure." She said "Yeah" I said.

"Well if you're ready then let's go talk to my parents. We're going to have to no matter what because the second I walk out of here everyone will notice I'm back." She said. "Yeah you're right, and yes I'm ready to go" I said "Alright let's do it" She said before I walked back outside with her following close. I let her go in front of me as we made our way toward the head alphas den. A few wolves looked at us and some whispered to one another probably saying "There back" or something. I was thinking about possible the ways this could play out about getting the law removed. It could either go good or bad but no matter what we would remain mates. For now the first thing they will ask is what happened to us and why we disappeared, then we will talk about the law. It didn't take long until we were making out way up the small path that led up to the leaders den. Most of the wolves what had noticed us resumed to what they were doing before and ignored us. Kate stopped just before rounding the corner and looked back at me, I smiled and told her I was ready. She smiled back before turning the corner with me right next to her. I looked inside and immediately saw Winston and Eve talking to each other. They hadn't noticed our presence until Kate spoke "Hi mom, hi dad" She said walking up next to them. I walked up as well and sat down next to her "Kate!" They both said each hugging her. Winston looked at me after her hugged his daughter "Humphrey" He greeted "Sir" I greeted back. "You don't know how relived I am to see you back, you had your mother and I worried sick looking for you." He said. "I'm sure" She said

"So where have you been?" He asked "Yes do tell" Eve agreed. "It's a long story but we were taken to Idaho and..." Kate began telling the story of our adventure getting home from Idaho. She told them all about how we had two birds lead us home, however she lied a bit and said we got off of the train this morning and walked here. We had actually planned all this out a few days ago about how we would tell them the story. We would tell then the truth after we found out what's going on with the eastern pack. "Wow you went through all that just to get back here?" Winston asked making sure "Sure did" I said with Kate nodding her head. "I'm glad you both made it back in one piece" He said "And did Humphrey behave on this trip?" Eve suddenly said eyeing me suspiciously. I just sat and looked back at her and waited for Kate to respond "Mom! He helped me get home and if it wasn't for him we wouldn't be here" Kate said. "Just checking" As all Eve said before looking away from me.

"So what's going on with the east, weren't you so post to go to war if I didn't marry Garth by the last full moon?" Kate asked changing the subject. "Since you disappeared Tony and I agreed to remain neutral until you returned" Winston replied. 'Good that means they didn't fight while we were gone' I thought to myself. However since Kate wouldn't marry Garth we had to think of another way to somehow unite. "But now since your back I'll tell Tony that we can proceed with your marriage tomorrow." He continued. 'Here comes the truth' I thought to myself "That won't be necessary" She said receiving odd looks from both parents. "What do you mean?" He asked "I can't marry Garth because I'm in love with another wolf" She said, all I did was sit and remained silent while she told them about us. "And who are you in love with?" He asked seeming calm about it, that's when she put her arm around me and all I did was look at him. "You're in love with Humphrey?" He asked, Eve suddenly fainted when she heard this. He looked at his fallen mate before looking back at Kate and I "But he's an omega Kate, you know the rules" He said plainly. I could sense that things might be going downhill "I know, and there more to the story that we've haven't told you yet" She said. "Alright, tell me all of it" He said, Kate proceeded to tell the full story where we confessed our love and ran away to be together.

He kept a plain look on his face as he listened to her tell the story "...And that's how we're in love" She finished "So we've come back here to see if you would remove the pack law against alpha and omegas being mates, allowing us to live together here." She said. There was a pause of silence that filled the room while we waited to hear what he would say. "I can't do that" He said "Why not?" She asked sounding surprised. "Because if I allow you to marry him then who is going to unite the packs, we'll go into war for sure." He said. He did have a point there, changing the law to just let us marry and throw the pack into a war seemed like a selfish thing to do. Kate let out a sigh of frustration "Marrying Garth is the only way to allow peace between us, it's your responsibility to go through with it for the good of the packs." He said.

"So you expect me to give up my love life for the good of the pack?" She said with her voice getting louder. "Well... yes, as harsh as it is" He said "I can't believe you would sell out your daughter like that" I said plainly. "This doesn't concern your opinion Humphrey, sometimes you got to do the right thing and it's not always for the best. Honestly Kate I hate that it has to be like this, I would remove the law so you two could marry but I just can't." He said. "Then it looks like we'll be leaving today" She said receiving a surprised look for him. "You're going to leave? You'll cause a war by doing this" He said. "If it's the way things have to be then yes, I'm sorry dad but nothing is going to make us separate. And if that means we have to leave then that's what we'll do." She said. "But..." Was all he said trying to figure out how to respond to that "Come on dad there has to be another way to unite the packs" She said trying to find a solution.

"Uniting through marriage is the only way; Tony is a stubborn wolf who won't agree to anything other than that." He said. It felt that no matter what we could do the pack was going to war, I couldn't help but feel selfish about abandoning the packs to fight. But as Kate said it's just the way things are going to have to be. There was a silence between us after he said this, Eve was still knocked out in the floor 'At least I'm not being ripped a part by her' I thought to myself looking on the bright side of things. "Just go, your mom and I love you. I understand that you two love each other and you have my best wishes for you future out there." He said. This surprised me, a moment ago he was trying to reason with us but now he's telling us to leave. "I love you too dad, I hate doing this and I'm truly sorry." She said starting to get a little emotional, I didn't blame her I would be crying right now if I was in her position. No wolf wants to just leave their family behind them.

"I know, I know" He said as they hugged for a minute "Humphrey take good care of her for me okay?" He said looking at me "I will sir, with my life" I said. He smiled at me "Good, I have no doubt that you'll be a good wolf for her" He said with a smile. That made me feel good inside knowing the leader of the pack respected his daughters choice in a mate. "Come on Humphrey, let's get on the move." Kate said getting up. I knew that we would now be heading back to the Willmore pack to live there from now on. I followed her as we exited the den, feeling upset that we had to leave here, but it was for the best.

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**A/N: Looks like things didn't go so well for Kate and Humphrey and now they are leaving Jasper. However this is not the end of things as you'll find out in the next chapter ;)**


	10. It's Not Over Yet

**A/N: For those of you wondering when do Garth and Lilly come into the story then this chapter should answer your questions.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

"God damn it" Kate cursed as we walked down from her parents den. "Hey it's alright, so things didn't go the way we wanted it but at least we tried." I said trying to look on the good side of things. "Humphrey we have to leave Jasper for good now, doesn't that make you upset?" She asked looking at me. "Of course it does, but like I said we tried and that's all we can do." I said. I was just as upset about this as she was but I held it inside. "It's just hard and unfair, I have to leave my family and friends to stay with the wolf I love." She said "I know, we'll get through this and besides it's not like we can't come back to visit." I said. I was trying my best to cheer her up since it hurt me to see her like this. "You're right" She said as we passed by the many dens that lined the hill sides. The sun was high above meaning Kate and I could at least reach the mountains before calling it a day. I began to think about what I would be missing by leaving here as well.

I only had friends here since I had no idea where my parents were, the only true family I had now was Kate. I would miss my group of three friends but I know they would understand and move on. I wanted to say goodbye to them but I knew Winston would end up holding a pack meeting to tell about the recent turn of events. I felt bad for all the wolves that made up the pack, they had to deal with the wrath of the east because Kate wouldn't marry Garth. But there was nothing we could do to change things for the better, not a single solution came to my mind. I cleared my mind out since I hated feeling upset, I was so post to be a free spirited omega. I didn't need to let unfixable things drag me down.

It had been ten minutes since we left the leaders den and we were getting close to the border when Kate stopped suddenly. "What is it?" I asked stopping as well "I should say goodbye to my sister, I can't believe I almost forgot about her." She said stomping her paw on the ground for forgetting. "Yes, where do you think she would be?" I asked "We'll she did like spending time at the river so let's check there." She said turning and walking off in the direction of the river that lines the northern border of the territory. The river was actually right around to corner from where we were so I would take no time getting there. I hoped Lilly would understand for Kate's sake, she didn't need to be pulled down by anything else. I could hear the sound of rushing water as we drew nearer to the river, it was a peaceful place to be since it was far from the rest of the pack. As we came out onto the rivers bank I was surprised to see that Kate had guessed right because sitting right there was Lilly.

"Lilly!" Kate yelled out happy to see her sister after so long. Lilly immediately turned her head to look at us "Kate! Humphrey!" Lilly yelled back quickly getting up from her spot and giving Kate a hug. "You're back" She said "Yeah, we arrived last night" I said. "I'm glad to see that you got back safely too" She said "Yeah considering all we've been through to get back here." Kate said. "You'll have to tell me all about it" She said "I would love to, but I'm afraid I got some bad news" Kate said.

"Bad news?" She asked "Yes Humphrey and I have to leave again and live elsewhere." Kate replied, she got a confused look on her face "What do you mean?" She asked. "We're mates now meaning we can't live here in Jasper. We tried to get dad to remove the law but he couldn't do it." Kate said. Lilly's face became plain before she spoke "Well if you're leaving then I want to come with you." She said. Kate and I shared a surprised look on out faces, it made no sense why Lilly would want to leave the pack. "Lilly" Kate said before pausing "Why would you want to leave Jasper?" "I have a long story to tell as well, I'll tell you all about it as we walk." She said. Kate looked at me for approval, I nodded my head yes. I really didn't mind it at all if she wanted to run away with us, It would be nice having some else I knew to talk too. "Alright you can come, only because I know you must have a good reason to." Kate said.

After that we all got up from the river side and proceeded northward. I thought about why Lilly of all wolves wanted to leave Jasper, she was always in a good mood that made you want to be in one as well. She didn't hate anyone that I knew of and I don't know who would want to hate a kind omega. The only logical reason she would want to leave I could think of was she didn't want to go through a war with the east. But she said she had a story to tell us as well so there had to be something more Kate and I didn't know about. We were now in the unclaimed forest making our way toward the distant mountains that would lead us back to the small pack we only left a day ago. It had remained silent between us for the past several minutes until Kate spoke.

"Alright, Humphrey and I will tell you about what happened to us then you can tell us what happened to you." Kate said as we walked "Sounds good to me" Lilly replied. For the second time today we talked about our journey from being captured and taken to Idaho. This time I joined in more so it wasn't just Kate telling it alone. Lilly kept fully focused on what we told her, hearing all the fun and hardships we went through. If I had to sum up our whole adventure I would say it was the biggest experience I ever had in my life. Even though we cheated death a number of times I had a lot of fun getting to spend time with Kate after so many months without her. Those winter months while she was in alpha school dragged on for what felt like years. At the time I didn't know why I missed her so much, I understood that she would come back but it seemed to bring me down when I thought about it. I eventually came to realize that I have some romantic feelings for her, it was the reason why I missed her so much. However it was forever drilled into my mind that we could never be together and no matter how I thought about it was true. But my stroke of luck came when we got taken away to Idaho, where we started acting like the best friends we were as pups again. It might sound odd but I am thankful that we got captured because if we didn't then Kate and I would have never been together. "...and we decided to come back to Jasper and try to get the law removed." I heard Kate say brining me out of my thoughts. "Wow" Lilly said "I'm happy for you two, you look great together" Kate and I both smiled. "Thank you sis" Kate said.

Surprisingly it took Kate and I over an hour to tell Lilly about our journey, we were still in the forest that made up Jasper but the mountains were much closer now. The sun was also getting lower to the ground meaning my estimate was correct. We would be spending the night at the mountains edge. I realized it was now Lilly's turn to share her story of what happened to her while we were gone. "So Lilly, what made you want to leave Jasper? It seems strange that you of all wolves would want to leave." I said looking at her who was walking next to Kate and I. "Alright, so it all started the morning after you two vanished." Lilly began "Winston called the east over for a pack meeting because he thought they might of kidnapped Kate. I'm sorry to say this but no one seemed to wonder where Humphrey was either, everyone was too concerned about Kate." She said. "Good to know how well I'm cared about" I sarcastically said, honestly I really didn't care because I barely knew anyone in the pack anyway. "Tony said kidnapping wasn't his style so that ruled them out as a suspect. That's when Winston started making search parties to find you two but nothing ever came up. The only thing he did find was human scent around your scents. I'm getting off the reason why I'm leaving though, anyway as I was saying. I decided to show Garth around our territory considering at the time he would soon be a part of our pack. We became quick friends and spent more time together over the time you were gone. He taught some hunting moves for fun but I sooner learned that hunting wasn't for me. I began to realize that I was falling in love with him and I knew he was too. The reason I knew this was because we howled together but unfortunately I wasn't allowed to see him after that. So thinking you would come back to marry him I began to try moving on but I just couldn't do it. So that's why I'm leaving Jasper, if Winston won't remove the law then there no point in my staying. I would have better luck trying to move on away from it." She said finishing her story.

I now felt bad for her as well because unlike Kate and I her story doesn't have a happy ending to it. "I'm so sorry to hear that" I said "Yes, my sister doesn't deserve being heartbroken and I wish you would have had a chance with Garth." Kate agreed. "I guess I brought it on myself, and now it's my problem to deal with by running away." She said. We all feel silent after this but Kate suddenly stopped after a minute of silence. "Oh my god, that's it!" Kate exclaimed with her face brightening up "What's it?" I asked as Lilly and I turned around to face her. We both looked at each other thinking she had gone crazy due to her sudden happy mood. "I just got the perfect idea that ends with us all happily living in Jasper united as one pack." Kate said. Now I really thought she lost her mind, after what we've seen and heard today it was only a dream that we could all live in Jasper the way we wanted it. "How Kate?" Lilly asked wanting to know about her idea as did I. "It's simple we go back and untie the packs through the marriage of you and Garth. This in turn will remove the alpha and omega law meaning Humphrey and I can live there as well." Kate said keeping a smile on her face. The biggest smile grew on my face after I heard this, that was the best thing I had heard all day. "You're right Kate that idea has to work, do doubt about it." I said. It seemed that things were suddenly taking a turn yet again, but this time for the best.

"Sis you're a genius!" Lilly yelled now full of excitement "That will work for sure" "Then it's settled, were turning around and heading back to Jasper. And this time for good!" Kate said, I couldn't help but walk up and kiss her. I was happy that maybe this time luck will be on our side. The plan was perfect, there was no way Winston or Tony would turn it down, it would avoid a war that I was certain they both didn't want to go through with. We turned around and began to yet again head back towards Jasper, it would only take around two hours to walk all the way back and by then it would be night. Things were happening so fast that I felt like we were just going in endless circles but hopefully soon that would all stop. Everything should go back to normal after we get back and set everything straight. Set everything to the way it should be.

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**A/N: There that should answer the Lilly and Garth question, now let's see if Kate's new idea will work in the next chapter.**


	11. The Meeting

**A/N: Funny how this was planned to be a short story but it's now turned into the longest I've ever written.**

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_Humphrey's POV_

I woke up in my den to a sight that was just like yesterday, the sun was shining outside and a light breeze could be felt. Kate, Lilly, and I all arrived back at the pack last night, we were excited to tell everyone about Kate's plan. But considering it was already night time we decided to get some sleep and tell the leaders about it in the morning. I looked around the den more and found Kate not there with me 'She must of gotten up early for this big day' I thought to myself. I got up off the dirt floor and stretched out my body, giving me a relieving feeling. I began to walk outside to see if I could find out where Kate was, my guess was that she was at her parents. I headed in the direction of the head alphas den to see if my guess was correct, but along the way I was stopped.

"Humphrey, what are you doing here?" I heard someone ask from behind me as I walked. I turned around to see one of my friends standing there "Shakey, good to see you again. Kate came up with a new idea that will untie the packs and remove the alpha and omega law." I said turning around. "Oh, because Winston told the whole pack that you left yesterday." He said "Yeah we did but we didn't get far before she got a new idea" I replied. "Alright good, hopefully you'll at least say goodbye next time you leave." He said. "Sorry, we were stuck in a rush and we were already outside the territory when I figured out I forgot." I said. "That's okay, you came back anyway so it doesn't matter" He said "Maybe we can all hang out later, after I speak with the leaders." I said. "Sounds great, I'll see you later then" He said before walking away.

I could really use some time hanging out with my friends after all that has been going on. After the packs get united things should slow down back to the way they were. I continued my walk to Winston's den which wasn't too much further, just had to go up the small rise that made the den overlook the whole valley. Most of the pack was already awake and I could see most of them at the feeding grounds having their share of the food. I rounded the corner and looked into the dens entrance, inside I found Winston, Eve, Kate, and Lilly all talking. I proceeded inside and Kate noticed my presence before anyone else "Good morning honey" She said. I sat next to them to see what they were talking about, most likely catching up after a week's absence. "Good morning" I replied back followed by the rest saying it back.

"Alright Kate now that Humphrey's here would you tell us why you came back?" Winston asked "Lilly, would you like to begin?" Kate asked looking over at her turning the attention on her. "Um... Sure" Lilly replied taking a breath before continuing "Long story short I told Kate and Humphrey that Garth and I had fallen in love. I decided to leave with them to start a new life but Kate came up with a better idea." She said. "What! Why didn't you tell your father and I?" Eve said sounding shocked. "Because I figured it wouldn't matter, besides he's an alpha in a different pack." She said.

"So both of our daughters have fallen for wolves of the opposite rank" Winston said calmly, he always seemed to be calm about everything. Maybe that's why many have said he's one of the most laid back yet strict leaders. "Yes we have" Kate said "And the reason we came back is because I came up with a plan that would unite the packs and remove the alpha and omega law at the same time."

"Let me guess, you want me to remove the law and have Lilly and Garth marry to unite the packs. This in turn will allow you and Humphrey to stay here." He said. "That's correct" She said "I got to say I like that plan, but we need to see if Tony will agree to this." He said. "He would be foolish to not agree to it" Eve said "I know, but remember he's a stubborn wolf and likes to play by the rules. He might not like the idea of alphas and omega's being mates" He said.

"I see you point, well let's go their border and signal for a meeting between us, Garth and him." Eve said "Of course. Come on I would like you all to be there as well, it will help." He said getting up with Eve and looking at the three of us. "Alright" Kate said getting up followed by Lilly and I. I was glad Winston liked the plan and I was already sure he would, however he would have to get Tony to see it the same way. I'm sure Garth would reason with him as well, Eve was right it would be very foolish for him to deny the plan. After all I was sure he would want the pack to be united as much as anyone else did. The five of us all walked out of the den and into the morning sun, the skies were clear of clouds and it was looking like a great day so far. I walked by Kate's side while Winston and Eve were in front of us talking about uniting the packs. Lilly was behind Kate and I looking around at the other wolves who looked at us wondering what we were up to. Hutch walked up to us and Winston told him that we were going to the eastern border and that he was in charge while we were gone. He nodded before walking off into the den grounds while we continued east. "We did it" I said to Kate right next to me, she smiled and laughed a little "Not yet, but almost" She replied. "I know, but come on I doubt this will fail" I said "Yeah your right about that, I'm just not going to celebrate until I hear the word 'yes' from him." She said. I nodded before looking away, we were passing by the mountain where moonlight howls are held. Nothing had changed just like everything else, but the mountain never looks as good during the day as it did during then night. The moon gave it a much better glow and appearance making it one of the best spots to be.

Soon I could hear the sound of water as we approached the small stream that marked the border of the two packs. The early sun vanished behind the tall cliffs that were located on the eastern side of the river. I sat down on the soft dirt that made up the river bank while Winston let out signaling Tony to come for a meeting. Kate, Lilly and I all talked while we waited for Tony and Garth to show up and start the meeting. Ten minutes passed before I saw the outlines of two wolves heading towards us from the other side of the river. It was Tony and Garth just as Winston signaled to come to his howl "Winston, I thought you said Kate left to be with another wolf" Tony said as he and Garth crossed the river. 'Looks like he already knows' I thought to myself sitting quietly as they spoke "She did, but then she came back with a whole new idea to unite our packs." Winston responded.

"Alright, let's hear it then" Tony said looking over at Kate who was sitting next to me with Lilly. Kate got up and joined by her father's side before proceeding to tell Tony and Garth about the plan. "The packs could be united through the marriage of Garth and Lilly instead of Garth and I." She said. Tony looked confused meaning Garth must have not told him that he had fallen in love with an omega. "What is she talking about Winston?" Tony said looking over at him. "Dad, I have fallen in love with an omega" Garth said receiving a nod for Kate and Winston.

"But she's an omega" Tony said looking back at his son "Rank doesn't matter to me I still love her and would like to be with her." Garth said. "I love you too" Lilly said from next to me getting a smile from Garth "Well if that's how you two feel then I won't object" Tony said. He agreed much fast than what I expected "So Tony, you agree to unite the packs through their marriage and remove the alpha and omega law?" Winston asked. "Yes, anything to avoid a war and this way my son will be happy and not forced married." Tony said.

"Alright then, I'm glad were not fighting either" Winston said "When will the wedding be?" Tony asked. "How about tomorrow the faster we unite the better, does that sound good to you two?" Winston asked looking over to Garth who was now next to Lilly's side. "Yes" The both said smiling happy that they would be together and unite the packs by doing so. "Perfect, goodbye Winston until tomorrow" Tony said before turning and heading back to his pack "Goodbye Tony, spread the news to your pack as will I" Winston said. "Will do, Garth I'll see you later" Tony said before disappearing into the trees "Thank you dad" Garth replied.

Winston laughed a little before looking at the rest of us "Thank you Kate, without your idea I'm sure we would have been fighting by now." He said, all Kate did was smile before walking over next to me. "Eve and I will head back and tell the rest of the pack about the news. You guys enjoy the rest of your day and I'm sure the pack is going to be celebrating somehow tonight." Winston said before they both walked off in the direction of the den grounds leaving the four of us sitting on the river bank. It was high noon meaning there was many hours before the night came, I felt like doing nothing but spend time with Kate for those hours.

"Wow, that was so easy" Kate said "Yeah" I agreed "I can't believe I didn't think about uniting the packs through the marriage of Lilly and I. The thought never crossed my mind but it still worked out" Garth said "It's all thanks to Kate" Lilly said.

"Guys please, I did it for Humphrey and I just as much as I did it for you." Kate said not wanting to take all the thanking. "I know but still, we all get to be with the one we love. We also united the packs so nothing could be better right now." Garth said. We continued to talk as time passed by, soon a whole hour had passed and we decided to head back to the rest of the pack to see what was happening. I was sure they were all howling with excitement happy that the packs would be united and things would get much better. I myself was happy that Kate and I would be mates in the pack we grew up in. Everything I ever wanted I now had, I got the girl of my dreams against all odds and we could stay together in Jasper. There was nothing but good things on the horizon for me, no more stress from the past week of events. Now all that was left was Garth and Lilly's marriage tomorrow and then Kate's and I's would follow soon after. I never asked her to marry me yet but I knew she wouldn't say no, I knew she loved me back just as much as I did. 'Perhaps I should ask her out for a date and tell her then' I thought to myself. The four of us all left the eastern river behind as we headed to the den grounds, continuing to talk, Kate and I also told Garth about our adventure along the way. He was amazed by it, he had no idea that we had traveled so far just to get back here.

We ended up taking the long way back and met up with the rest of the pack who cheered at our arrival and congratulated Garth and Lilly about their engagement. The rest of the day went by fast, Winston organized a pack dinner to celebrate the good news. It ended up lasting for many hours after sunset, most of the pack was having too much fun talking to each other that no one noticed it was nighttime. Eventually everyone began to retire to their dens for the night leaving just Winston, Eve, Kate, Garth, Lilly, and I. Winston told us that the wedding would be held at sunset tomorrow with a moonlight howl party held right afterward. I was excited about the moonlight howl because it would be the first one in which I would actually howl with Kate at. We all said our goodbye's to each other after that before heading to our dens for the night.


	12. Training Day II

**A/N: A quick chapter before the wedding begins**

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_Humphrey's POV_

"Humphrey get up" I could hear the sound Kate's voice in my sleep, I opened my eyes to see her lying next to me. "Is something wrong?" I asked still half asleep, in my mind it felt like it was nighttime still so I thought something was wrong with her. "You could say that, I just can't fall back asleep" She replied, I fully woke up after hearing that. "Why not" I asked, there was a little bit of light illuminating our den from the sun that was getting closer to rising. "Well I had this odd dream and I guess I can't sleep after waking up from it." She said. "Do you want to talk about it?" I offered, seeing if letting it out would help her. "Nah I faintly remember it anyway. I was going to get up and go for a walk but I wanted to wake you up first." She said. "You want me to walk with you?" I asked thinking she was going to ask that next. "Sure, but I was thinking of training you some more before the rush of the wedding gets started. Might as well since it's early and I can't sleep." She said.

"Do we have to? I kind of just want to relax until the packs are united" I said "Well do you got anything better to do?" She asked. I knew she had me there "Fine, let's go" I said, If I was going to be trained it would be best to get it done quickly and be done with it. "Good I was thinking I was going to have to drag you out to the valley." She jokingly, I laughed knowing she would do just that if tempted. "Oh really?" I said raising an eyebrow and getting up "Really" She replied with a smile getting up as well. I followed her outside into the early morning, the air was cold and the sun was almost rising over the mountains. I didn't see a single wolf outside besides us, they must all be asleep still from yesterday's events. They didn't need to be up early anyway, Winston had given everyone the day off due to the wedding that would be happening later today. We had most of the day to just Kate and I and I wouldn't have it any other way.

We walked through the quiet forest as we headed to the valley for today's hunting session. I didn't know what she had planned for today, possibly some more attack and defensive moves maybe. I didn't care, I was spending time with Kate and learning how to hunt so it wasn't just her doing it. I actually didn't have to train anymore since we were now living back in Jasper but I insisted. I wanted to be able to provide and protect not just her but also a whole family if in the future we decide to have one. I was neutral to the whole idea of being a parent, if that's what she wanted then I'm up for it. If not then it wouldn't be a big deal, I supported the fact of it just being Kate and I for our whole lives. Between the two of us there is ten happy years ahead, plenty of time to not rush into things. The slope of the valleys wall fattened out as we entered the tall green grass that covered most of the valleys floor. I could feel my fur get wet slightly from the dew on the blades of grass. It was cold but as soon as the sun would come up I would warm right up.

As if on cue rays of golden light shined onto us as we arrived at one of the many rocks that scattered across the valley floor. Just like the previous training day back in Wilmore Kate stood on top of the rock with me sitting below. However this time the golden sunlight made her fur shine beautifully, looking like some kind of goddess. I don't know how she managed to always look stunning to me all the time. I must have been staring at her longer than I thought because she looked at me oddly. "What?" She asked looking right back at me "Oh!" I said coming back to reality "Sorry it's just that the sun makes you look so amazing" I could see her cheeks redden just a bit as she smiled. "Thank you" She said before focusing on the task at hand, training me. "Now as I was saying, today I am going to show you how teamwork can help a group bring down more prey. It might be just you and me but teamwork is still important if you're going to be an alpha here, after all you will be paired with a group of wolves with me not being there most of the time." She said. I gave her my full attention as she gave her lesson, I had to admit for not teaching before she was really doing a good job.

"Communicating with other wolves while stalking prey has to be done through signals, you can't speak so someone who is across the way from you. There are two ways to do this and I don't expect you to remember these straight off the bat." I nodded my head before she began to show me various signals that surprisingly weren't done with your paws as I expected. All the signals where made by using your tail or twitch of the ear, most were pretty simple but remembering what goes with what is the hard part of it. "Yeah I'm sure I'm going to need to be reminded about those a lot." I said "That's alright, you got plenty of time to learn" She said. After some time of listening to her tell me more ways of teamwork we got back to practicing some more pouncing. With Kate being the prey and me the hunter, we didn't move much just went in circles as I pounced onto her. Of course she dodged most of my attempts only making me get back up to try again. After my seventh successful pounce out of many I began to hear a quiet laugh before hearing a voice.

"What are you two doing?" We looked over to see Winston just walking up. I was already off of Kate and sat down beside her "Hey dad, I'm teaching Humphrey how to hunt" She said getting up in a sitting position as well. "And why's that?" He asked "Well I began to teach him back when we were 'running away', he felt bad that it was just me doing all the hunting and wanted to learn how. So I began teaching him and so far he's had one kill." She said. "I would eventually like to become an alpha as well if that's possible sir." I said "If that's what you want then of course, I'll give Kate every other day off from alpha duties so that she can train you. And please you can call me Dad or Winston you know after all you are my son in law now." He said. "Okay, dad" I said, that felt so weird to say to the head alpha but he was right. "Good I'll leave you two to train in peace now, oh and Kate Lilly wanted to see you before the wedding starts, she will be in our den." He said before turning and heading back to the den grounds "Alright, thank you dad for everything" She said as I watched him walk off "Anything for my daughters" I could hear him faintly say since we was far away now.

"This is great, I get half of my normal duty time just to spend time with you" She said leaning against me "Yeah" I said smiling. "Right then back to what we were doing, training you to be an alpha." She said getting right up in an instant. The next three hours was nothing but constant activity of various hunting moves, most of them I already knew from last time but practice makes perfect. After those hours of doing training Kate decided that would be enough for today and I was glad to hear it. I was already tired from what we did and it wasn't even that strenuous. But she did tell me that once I was an alpha I would become adapted to t and not be so tired. It's was around noon meaning the wedding was only a few hours away, and after that would come a huge party between the newly united packs. After that things would resume to normal although Kate and I still had to get married as well and I was thinking of maybe asking her tonight after the howl.

We walked into the den grounds to see everyone up and having fun considering it was a free day for everyone. "Alright I'm sure Lilly wants to see me so what are you going to do while I'm gone?" Kate asked me as we passed the head alpha's den "I'm just going to head back to our den and take a nap, all that training has worn me out." I said. She laughed "Sounds good I'll join you after I'm done with what Lilly needs" She said. We both said goodbye and shared a quick kiss before heading our separate ways. I was a defiantly ready for a nap it would keep me awake later on since I'm sure the moonlight howl will run late into the night. Arriving in my den I laid down on the floor and closed my eyes, for a while I didn't fall asleep but after some time I dozed right off into sleep.

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I awoke not much later to see that Kate had come back while I was asleep and was curled right up against me. I smiled, I was one damn lucky wolf to have her as my mate. It might seem like I only love her for looks but that's only a bonus. Her life style and good energy is something that always puts me in a good mood. She's smart, strong, caring, fun, and responsible, luckily I had managed to get the fun back in her. Thanks to the time we spent getting home from Idaho I slowly reminded her that having fun was just as important as being responsible. As much as that doesn't make sense it's true, who wants to be a strict by the law alpha all the time? I looked outside to see that it appeared to be mid-afternoon and knew that I should wake her up if we were going to see the wedding at sunset.

"Hey Kate, wake up" I softly said nudging her, she began to stir out of her slumber before opening her eyes. "Yes?" She asked seeming to forget why we need to get up "The wedding will be happening soon so we should get up" I said. She got right up after hearing what I said "Alright, your right the sun is around two hours from setting" She said looking outside to where she could see the sun above. "I'm not sure about you but I'm going to wash up in the river before we head over to my dad's." She said "I think I'll wash up too, after all we got a moonlight howl to go to after it" I agreed wanting to look sharp as well. "Yeah that should be fun howling with you again" She said smiling. I smiled too before we exited our den heading to the river to wash our fur's for tonight's activities.


	13. Together As One

**A/N: A long chapter just for you!**

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_Humphrey's POV_

Kate and I arrived at the small stream where we found Lilly at just the other day. Not a single wolf was there which was normal considering not everyone knew about this place unless they found it on their own. I immediately walked into the water to rinse off my fur. The stream was cold causing me to shiver a little from the feeling of the flowing water. Kate had walked into the water as well a few feet away from me and began soaking her fur. I dropped lower in the water until I began to go beneath the surface then quickly rose back up and got out of the water. I shook myself off sending drops off in every direction before sitting on the bank of the stream. I groomed my fur to make it look sleek and neat, I was too busy with this that I hadn't noticed that Kate was already done somehow. I heard her laugh softly which caught my attention "Come on Humphrey, I think your clean enough" She said. I looked over at her to see that her fur was mostly dry and clean, 'How did she manage to clean up faster than me?' I thought to myself.

"Hey your lucky that your fur is always kept neat, mine doesn't want to stay straight for long." I argued before fixing a few more hairs that were standing on end. "Oh come on now, you're an omega, your fur is so post to be untidy. Besides I think it makes you look cuter when your fur isn't cleaned up, it makes you look fluffy like a pup." She said. I smiled from her compliment "Well thank you, but tonight is special so that's why I'm cleaning up." I said.

"Is it now?" She said wondering what I meant by special, "Hello! I get to howl with the girl I love the most in the world, of course it's special." I said making it sound like a big deal, it really wasn't because I knew we could howl at any time we wanted. She smiled "And I get to howl with the most handsome wolf in the world" She said as she moved up right next to me. I smiled back before the distance between our noses closed to nothing. We our kiss lasted longer than just a quick touch of the noses, we pulled away and just remained silent. Kissing her always left me in a daze, not that we didn't kiss much, we did it on a more than daily basis, it was just magical to me. I could hear her giggle since my daze was showing on the outside "Come on Mr., we got a wedding to attend" She said pulling me to reality for the second time today. "Right behind you" I said as we began to the leaders den where we would meet up with Kate's family. Actually I should start saying my family since that is what they are now.

Wolves were still running around and having fun playing games together, I could see my three best friends all teaching some alphas how to play berry ball. I wanted to go and join them but I would have plenty of time for that later. Maybe at the howl we could all catch up since I had only done that with Salty so far since I got back. There was an hour left until the wedding was scheduled to begin so soon everyone would be making their way down to the valley. But I would be coming last since I was part of the bride's family, we will meet everyone down at the valley. Arriving at Winston's and Eve's den I could hear them talking to Lilly about something. We walked inside and I could see Lilly with a purple flower in her hair that matched the shade of her eyes. Her mane was pulled back behind her ears which was a first, normally she always kept one of her eyes covered with it. I could see that she was full of excitement for what was about to come, I would be acting the same way if I was in her position. They all looked over at us as we came up to them "Ah there you two are, we were just discussing to Lilly about the wedding." Eve said.

"Yeah just reminding me how the whole marriage process works since I'm having trouble remembering." Lilly agreed. I sat down joining the circle everyone was sitting in "There's nothing too hard about it, I'm sure Garth will help you out." Kate said. Lilly nodded her head "Just anxious is all" She said "Oh believe me that's normal, I was the same way on your fathers and I's wedding. Don't worry it will be over before you know it and you two will be married." Eve said.

Lilly perked right up after she said that, seeming to gain confidence from hearing that it would be over and done with fast. The conversation between us continued for the remaining time we had left before sunset. Winston looked outside as did I to see that the sun was beginning to vanish behind the tall mountains on the other side of the valley. Everyone else noticed this as well "Well Lilly, are you ready?" Winston asked looking over at his white furred daughter "Yes, let's do this" Lilly replied getting up and walking past us leading the way to the valley. We all followed right behind her, I could see the crowd of wolves that had gathered at the bottom of the valley. Both packs were there as expected "Wow that's a lot of wolves" I commented. Kate looked over the ledge that was in front of the den to see what I was talking about "Yeah that shows you just how big our pack is going to become very soon." She said.

Several minutes passed as the five of us all walked quietly through the evening forest, there was a light breeze that I felt pushing against my side. A few birds could be heard from above, talking to each other before disappearing for the night. Plenty of flowers were in bloom giving the forest a new type of beauty, it was late spring and hot days of summer would be following soon. The heat wasn't an issue since most wolves would be at the river cooling off during their free time. Soon we were walking across the valley floor over to the large group of wolves I saw earlier, most were busy talking to each other to notice that we had walked past them. The group was actually was split in two, western wolves on the right and eastern on the left. I could see Garth already up on the flat rock where all weddings took place waiting for his bride to be to arrive, Tony was by his side. Kate, Eve, and I all sat down in the front of our side of the group while Winston led Lilly up to the rock. Everyone was now silent and looking at the four wolves that were standing on the rock. The light from the sun was slowly fading into darkness but it wouldn't get too dark since the full moon loomed just overhead ready for the nights howling.

Winston cleared his throat before beginning to speak with Tony right next to him. "As I'm sure you all know, we are gathered here on this fine evening to witness not just the joining of two lovers. But also the joining of two strong packs that will now work together as one. The joining of Lilly and Garth as mates will also serve as the bond between us two packs. I can see nothing but good things in our futures and even though we came very close to war, a long term peace has only just begun. I would like to thank my other daughter Kate for sharing with me the fact that these two wolves loved each other. If it wasn't for her we would all be deep into a war of uncertainty, luckily the conflict was avoided." Winston said as a few wolves began to cheer for Kate. The two of us just smiled as Winston finished his speech "So with no further delay, Lilly and Garth you may now begin the marriage ritual" He said before Tony and him stepped off of the rock and joined with crowd leaving just the bride and groom.

The whole group became very silent so they would be able to hear the soon to be couple speak. "So do you want to go first or should I?" Garth asked looking at Lilly. "You can go first" She said in a light voice, I could tell she was a little nervous by the way she spoke. Garth started with smelling her scent with her doing the same after him. Next came the nibbling on each other ears, I had no idea why you had to do half of the things you needed to do to become mates. I could understand accepting each other's scents and rubbing noses but everything else was just odd. I watched as they progressed through the many stages of the ritual. I was thinking about Kate and I soon being up there doing the same thing in the matter of a few days. I was excited about it, we would finally be called true mates who were married. Garth continued to lead with Lilly mirroring his actions, the process took five minutes until they reached the final and most important final stage. By rubbing their noses they will not only become mates but also untie two large packs into a much greater one. It felt like everyone was holding their breath waiting and watching as their noses closed in on each other. The noses touched as they shared a kiss, once this happened wolves began to howl and cheer.

A new chapter had begun, the packs were now officially united and every wolf was happy about it. The newly wedded couple just stood where they were looking at each other savoring the moment. The two leaders got back up on the rock and faced the crowd, the cheering subsiding a bit. "As your leaders, we are now truly united as one pack" Tony said "Now let's go party, the moonlight howl has begun for those who wish to attend" Winston said. The two had to talk loudly in order for everyone to hear as wolves continued their celebrating. I watched as the group slowly shrunk some heading towards the mountain at which the howl was to be taken place. The rest, mostly older wolves, headed back to their homes. Kate and I stayed where we were sitting next to Eve who had been silent this whole time yet suited a smile. Winston, Lilly, and Garth all walked over to us from their position on the rock, the couple still had smiles on their faces happy and excited that they were now married. "Well now that that's over with, Garth and I are going to party at the howl" Lilly said stopping in front of us "Humphrey and I will join you" Kate said getting up. "Awesome, mom, dad, are you coming?" Lilly said looking over at them "Of course! It is a moonlight howl after all, a special one too" Winston said. Eve laughed before saying "You guys go ahead, we'll be there soon"

"Alright, come on we got a party to attend" Garth said as they began following the wolves that were all exiting the valley and climbing up the distant mountain. Kate and I walked close side by side following the new couple as they lead us to the howl. I was pumped up and ready to howl the night away in the good company of my friends and my mate. It was already night time but you could still see a little bit of light left from the now over day. The moon shined brightly above giving everything a bluish silver color, it was bright enough that I even had a shadow. The sky was also clear of any clouds showing off the many stars that were scattered about. The voices of wolves howling in tune together began to grow louder as the four of us climbed out of the valley nearing our destination. There was a crowd of wolves at the bottom of the mountain all socializing. At the same time couples could be seen howling on the many ledges that made a stair case all the way up to the top with a pathway in the middle. This was the most crowded howl I had ever been to or seen.

The four of us walked up to the group of wolves sitting at the bottom and suddenly they all looked at us. They all began to cheer once again for Garth and Lilly who quickly found themselves at the center of attention. They were caught in the middle of the group now, not that it was a bad thing. I could see them smiling and saying thank you, I couldn't help but laugh "Well while their busy with that how about we get an early start?" I asked looking away from the group and at Kate. "Let's do it!" She said sounding just as excited as I was to howl together. We moved around the crowd and began up the slope keeping an eye out for anywhere we could howl at. Along the way I was shocked to see Salty and Shakey howling with girls already, that was a first. Shakey was with Janice which made scene however I didn't know the wolf Salty was with, maybe they were from the east. We continued to climb up the mountains and I saw more wolves howling and not a single spot for Kate and I to go yet.

As I rounded a bend in the path I surprised to see Mooch sitting by himself "Hey Mooch, what's up buddy" I called out getting his attention as Kate and I stopped next to him. "Hey Humphrey, about time I get to talk to you" He replied looking back at me "Yeah it's been a busy few days, anyway howl with any girls yet?" I asked. As a friend I felt bad that he's never howled with any girls from what I've seen. "No not yet" He said "Really? Man their really missing out then" I said trying to lighten his mood up so that he would maybe start making some moves. "Maybe, I was thinking of heading back down and taking with everyone" He said, that's when I got an idea, perhaps I could help him out. "Nonsense, how about I help you get someone to howl with" I offered hoping he would say yes. "I don't know..." He began sounding like he didn't want that "Come on, it'll be easy" I said getting up "Alright, lead the way" He finally agreed.

"Great" I said putting my arm over his back leading him towards where I could see some omega girls from our side of the united pack. Before I began to walk away I looked and motioned to Kate to continue up the hill and find a spot for us to howl at. She nodded before turning and heading up the mountain. There were four omega girls all talking to one another and seeming to be having a good time. I had seen these girls around the pack before but never got to know their names well. I could feel Mooch slowdown a bit as he noticed where I was taking him to "Humphrey I'm not sure about this" He said. "Don't be nervous, what's the worst that can happen, if they say no then you can at least say you tried." I said which seemed to make him gain some confidence back. It didn't take much longer until we were right next to the girls and I cleared my throat getting ready to play match maker. "Hello ladies" I greeted getting their attention towards us "Hey Humphrey" They greeted apparently already knowing who I was. "So listen, my friend here hasn't howled with anyone before and was interested in changing that tonight, any of you interested? His name is Mooch." I said sounding like I was selling him off. They all looked at each other and I was surprised to see one of them walk up to him and hold out their paw as a greeting. "Hello I'm Tasha" The she wolf said "Mooch" Mooch said shaking her paw. "So are you east or west?" She asked "Western" Mooch replied. I smiled knowing that I got him talking with a girl, seeing that my work was done here I turned and headed up the mountain to find Kate.

I found her surprisingly near the summit of the mountain which was normally filled up during the whole howl. She smiled when she saw me and waited for me to join by her side "Done playing match maker?" She asked looking at me "Yeah I got him talking with a girl when I left him" I answered sitting right beside her. "That's a nice thing you did for him" She said "Anything for a friend" I said. We stayed quiet for a moment as only the sound of wolves howling in harmony with each other filled the cool night air. "So who's starting off?" I asked looking at her "You can" She replied before getting up and walking out to the edge of the overhang. I followed and could see the whole valley lit up from the silvery moonlight. We both sat again this time with our pelts touching. With me being the designated starter of our howl I waited for the right moment to begin since everyone at a moonlight howl sings along to the same melody. I raised my head to the starry sky and let my voice flow out starting to howl. I was going solo for a few moments hitting varying notes when I finally heard Kate's voice mix with mine. Her voice sent shivers down my spine just like it has every time we howled, I could literally melt from the sound of it.

Our duet continued for several minutes still sounding amazing to me. I was in complete bliss and after ten minutes we concluded the howl bringing out heads and voices down from the heavens. I opened my eyes and kept a large grin on my face as I looked at Kate in the eyes. She looked right back at me as we slowly brought our heads closer together until we shared a kiss. A few moments passed until we pulled back and resumed staring into each other's eyes. Enjoying the presence and love we shared, the night might not be over yet but so far it was one of the best in my life. We didn't speak a single word for some time until she broke it "I love you Humphrey" She said leading her head against my side "I love you too Kate" I replied leaning back. I looked up at the stars and moon that had all witnessed our howl and became lost in my thoughts recalling our trip from Idaho. I still felt like I was dreaming everything that had recently happened but I wasn't. This was real, all of it was and I wouldn't have it any other way, this was everything I had ever wanted.

I remembered that I wanted to ask Kate to marry me tonight and I was still going to. As much as the place we were now was perfect I wanted it to be just us two when I did ask her. I thought of an idea to get us to somewhere that was more private then here "Feel like taking a walk darling?" I asked. "Sure that would be nice" She said getting up on her paws as did I. We walked down the mountain passing many wolves that were still howling and having a good time. I didn't see Mooch on the way down but I hoped that he had gotten to howl with someone. Soon we reached the bottom where we separated from Garth and Lilly earlier. They weren't there anymore leaving me to assume that they were off somewhere howling together. I had no idea where to go so I just headed in the direction of the valley with Kate right by my side. Not a word was spoken between us and I didn't feel the need to change that. I enjoyed the silence of the two of us walking through the moonlit forest alone.

The great valley that made Jasper so special opened itself up to us as we entered the large meadow. You could get an amazing view of the stars from down here. The sounds of moonlight howl slowly faded as we walked further away leaving nothing but quiet. There was a light cool breeze blowing through the tall grass as we passed through it. I looked next to me expecting to see Kate right by my side but she wasn't. I quickly looked behind me to find her but all I saw was a tan blur as I was hit and knocked over by something soft and warm. I regained my focus from the sudden blow to see Kate lying on top of me, all I did was laugh seeing it was only her that 'attacked' me. "I thought you said we were done hunting for the day" I said making her laugh in response "Sorry just couldn't resist" She replied smiling. I smiled back looking up into her amber eyes that had always made me melt on the inside from seeing. She looked back at me and at that moment it felt like it was just the two of us in this world. We had no worries anymore just a bright future ahead of us here in Jasper. I pushed my head up until our noses met for the second time tonight. The kiss became passionate making the moment that much better, we were really deep into our kissing that I had to pull away due to lack of air. "Wow" I said amazed by what just happened, Kate moonlit face was smiling right back at me "I'll say" She agreed.

Seeing that this was the best moment to ask I went for it "You know Kate I've been thinking lately" I began. "About what sweetie" She said softly "About us, Kate you're the love of my life and all I want is to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" I said opening the question to her. The light from the moon may have not been bright but I could see her eyes start to quickly water up. "Yes! Yes I will marry you Humphrey!" She said as if calling it out to the whole world. I smiled knowing that she truly felt the same way to me as she did to me. I brought my forepaws up and warped them around her embracing us, her soft fur up against mine. I could feel a few of her tears fall onto me as she cried from happiness I couldn't help but shed a few as well. This was it, I would soon be officially married to the love of my life and my life will be complete. "I love you" I heard her say resting her head on my chest "I love you too, and always will" I said. We laid there under the stars for a while sharing another kiss happy that we would become true mates.

"Come on Kate, we should get home" I said as much as I wanted to stay there with hey laying on top of me it was getting late and we should rest up to see what tomorrow had in store. "Alright" She said with a sigh probably thinking the same thing as me. We got up from our spot in the grass and began to head up to our den. 'Best night ever' I thought to myself before falling asleep with Kate curled up right next to me.

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**A/N: Longest chapter yet! And my favorite so far. Only a few more chapters left until this story will draw to a close. Stay tuned for the next chapter.**


	14. Exploration

_Humphrey's POV_

I awoke in my den from the bright beam of sunlight that had managed to shine its way into my den. I squinted my eyes as I looked at it before rolling over to face away from it. I found Kate sleeping next to me with her back up against mine, I quickly recalled the events of last night. Proposing to her under the full moon with all of her beauty above me was amazing, and of course she said yes. Meaning we would soon be married and ready for a future together. Thankfully all the major problems that arose during the past week are now all resolved and life has resumed to normal. My life couldn't be any better right now, I got the one thing I desired most and that was Kate. The sunlight in the room suddenly vanished, I looked outside to see a clouds rolling by blocking the sun. From the way things looked it might possibly rain today, I loved the rain. I stretched out my back and legs before getting up, I wasn't sure if there was anything planned to do today. Kate might have alpha duties or she could be training me, I decided to wake her up to start our day. It had to be at least mid-morning considering how late we were up last night.

"Hey, Kate wake up" I said softly pushing my paw on her shoulder to rock her awake. Her eyes flashed open to look up at me "Hello sleeping beauty" I said smiling. She giggled before rolling over to face me "Good morning Humphrey" She replied giving a smile as well. She then looked around me to see that it was daytime outside "How late did we sleep in?" She asked. "Well I haven't been outside yet but it looks like its mid-morning maybe." I said looking outside from where I sat. "Why, did you have alpha duties?" I asked looking back at her "Not at all, but I do tomorrow" She said getting up and giving me a good morning kiss. She let out a relieving sight before sitting next to me "Just think, soon we will be married and then who knows what happens next." She said "Yeah, I'm excited" I agreed "Me too" She said.

We sat there for a short while, I was sure she was still trying to wake up before we would head outside to see what was happening today. "Do you want to go talk to your parents about planning our marriage?" I asked. "That's a great idea, hopefully it can be in the next few days." She said. We got up and walked out of our den before heading in the direction of her parents den, well actually our parents den, I keep forgetting that. I didn't see much activity from the pack as we walked, it seemed like everyone was still asleep while some alphas were out hunting early. Upon arrival to the head alpha's den we found Winston and Eve sharing the leg of a caribou for breakfast. "Hello mom and dad" Kate said was we walked inside, they looked up at us "Hello you two" Eve said while Winston resumed eating. "What brings you here?" She asked as we sat across from them. "Well Humphrey and I are engaged now" Kate said happily putting her paw on mine while she said it. "That's great! When's the wedding?" Eve asked, Winston reminded silent but had a smile on his face telling me he was glad as well. "That's what we came to talk to you about" I said "Yes, we came to see what day works best. Preferably in the next few days." Kate added.

"Any day works Kate, all I have to do is cancel alpha duties for everyone which is no problem. We got enough food as it is for now." Winston said "Okay, well" She began before looking at me "You pick" I thought about and decided that it would be nice to keep a space between the previous wedding and ours. Just so everyone could recover from the crazy party of last night "How about in two days" I suggested. "That's perfect" She agreed "Alright I'll hold a meeting later this afternoon and tell everyone there's no alpha duties that day due to your wedding." Winston said. "Great" I said glad that it would happen much sooner than I thought "Until then, Kate you have no alpha duties until next week." He said. "What are you sure?" She asked surprised that her dad would do that "Yes, you can spend more time with Humphrey since you're both getting married. I do this for all the other couples as well, mostly alphas." He said. This was another example of why Winston was such a well-loved pack leader.

"Thanks so much dad!" She said excited about spending more time with me and not having to hunt or patrol. I too was excited, even spending just a minute with her was great in my book. He laughed from her reaction "Go on you two have fun, I'll signal you when the meeting is going to begin" He said. We said our goodbye before exiting the den, I was wondering what we could do to pass the time since the afternoon was many hours away. I thought about playing some games but I wasn't really in the mood, this was odd since I was always in the mood for fun. "So what do you want to do today" I asked Kate as we walked past the feeding grounds. She thought for a moment before speaking "How about we go explore the eastern territory?" She suggested. That did sound like fun, it would be interesting to see what it was like over there. "That sounds like fun" I said.

"Awesome, let's do it" She said before changing our direction towards the old eastern border. The territories had combined to become a much larger one, in fact it doubled in size from what I heard. The eastern territory covered the opposite side of the valley before ending at the base of the distant mountains. There was the great possibility of finding something amazing and new in that area. The sound of the tall waterfall could be heard as we neared the small river. We crossed the river and were now in what used to be the eastern territory. "I wonder what kind of cool things we will find in here." I commented as the two of us passed under the tall pine trees. "I'm not sure, but that's what exploring is all about, not knowing what's around the next corner." She said.

"Yeah remember we're Kate and Humphrey world adventures!" I said in an announcing kind of tone, "That's right!" She replied laughing. So far nothing out of the ordinary had made itself visible to us, just natural forest. I knew from reference that the eastern packs den grounds were in the center of their territory, much like how the western's was. And we were heading straight towards it since I could smell the scents of other wolves get stronger. Some time passed until we came up on a clearing full of tall grass, within this clearing was the dens that made up the eastern pack. It was perched upon the top of a small mountain overlooking the valley and the rest of the territory. We walked our way around since we didn't see the need to get any closer. I could see a few wolves around, most having a piece of meat which they were eating. After completing a half circle around the edge of the meadow we continued eastward toward the growing mountains. They were snow covered and served as an amazing background when looking at them from the valley.

Many clouds were hanging along the slopes slowly moving. They were all a shade of grey, a sign that it might possibly rain later today if they pass over us. So far it did look that way which made me excited since I loved the rain, but lightning and thunder not so much. We came up the too top of another small mountain and we stopped to take a break. Looking behind us I could see that we were now above the eastern den grounds and had a much better view of the valley. I could even see all of the western territory as well "Wow you can see everything from up here" Kate commented "Yeah I can even see our den" I said leaning closer to her and pointing to it with my forepaw. "Your right, wow we got pretty far from there." She said, it had been well over two hours since we left from our parents den. "Too bad there hasn't been anything cool we've found yet." I said "You know that now you said that we are going to find something" She said looking at me. "I hope so" I said

"Perhaps if we could ask Garth when we get back home" She suggested "Yeah that way we don't have to wander around this whole place" I agreed. Ten minutes passed before we got up from our spot to continue up will to reach the end of the territory. It couldn't be much farther because the trees were beginning to thin out as the ground became rockier. Suddenly we came up on another clearing and found something that was actually interesting. We stopped at the sight of a dark opening much like a dens. However this was not a den, I had never seen anything like it but I was told before that it was called a cave. "See now what did I tell you! I knew we would find something" She said. "Yeah, who knew it would be a cave, come on let's check it out" I said walking ahead toward the dark entrance.

My curiosity had taken over, I was determined to see what a cave looked like. I already had a general idea of what it would be like but lacked the physical factor of seeing one in person. Kate walked close by my side seeming just as interested in it as I was. Walking through the entrance the amount of light began to diminish until we could only barely see what lie ahead. The ground was soft dirt that was nice to walk on, I expected it to be mostly rock. The walls were a dark grey giving me a feeling of isolation from the outside world. I noticed that there were flowers that lined the wall which seemed very odd. "What's with the flowers?" I asked, there were all picked from the ground so they couldn't of just grown there. "I'm not sure" She said "You don't think this is some sort of burial ground do you?" I asked. It seemed like the only explanation since most wolves had some flowers placed on top of their graves by loved ones. "A cave seems like the most unusual spot for graves to be" She said. "Yeah maybe so" I replied continuing deeper into the cave. I could suddenly see what seemed like daylight along the cave walls, it seemed to be around the next bend. We rounded the corner and what I saw was just amazing, a pond of water glistened from the sunlight that was shining through a large hole in the top of the cave. We had stopped in the entrance of the large room, both taken aback by the sight. There was a mix of grass and moss growing on the ground and walls. There was also an assortment of flowers as well "Wow" We ended up saying at nearly the same time.

"This defiantly isn't a burial ground" I said "It looks more like a place to swim in seclusion" She said. A rock jetted out into the pond much like a platform, I could see that the cave continued further on the other side of the water. I stopped on top of the rock and looked all-round the room, gazing at its beauty. Pine trees grew overhead and their roots could be seen coming through the roof around the skylight. I looked over alongside the pond to see Kate walking along a small ledge just above the water. It looked like it led all the way around before turning to head deeper into the cave. "This is just amazing!" I explained, my voice echoing off the dart grey stone walls. "Yeah, I can't believe I've never heard of this place." She agreed "Might be because it's kept a secret" I said, there was a swimming pond back in the western territory that was only known by a few. Kate and I knew about it since we found it upon accident while playing tag as pups. "Possibly, much like our own swimming hole" She said continuing along the thin ledge.

"Be careful, it doesn't look like a very sturdy path" I said watching her concerned that she might slip and fall down into the water. "Relax, what's the worst that can happen" She replied stopping to look across the pond at me. As if on command the path on which she stood began to slide down with her going along with it. She yelled out in surprise before making a big splash into the water. I immediately reacted by jumping into the water and swimming towards where she landed. A moment later she resurfaced laughing, I slowed down my mad rush of swimming over to her after seeing that she was laughing about it. "Looks like I jinxed it" She said as we met in the center of the pond. "You had me worried for a minute there" I said "You got nothing to be worried about, I don't put myself in danger on purpose." She said looking at me. "And who had to save you from that flash flood?" I questioned. "Alright good point, but that was only because I was mad at you for losing our ride." She said.

Surprisingly the water was fairly warm and felt very soothing "Perhaps it was fate, because if we didn't lose the ride in that car we probably wouldn't be where we are now." I said "That is true, and I'm glad it did happen because we wouldn't be together like we are now." She said bringing her face up close to mine. I couldn't help but laugh before our noses touched, I embrace her in the water as our kiss continued. We pulled away after a short but satisfying while, I continued to hold her as we floated in the calm water. She had a smile on her face "What?" I asked after watching her looking back into my eyes, not that it was a bad thing. "Nothing..." She said innocently before she quickly jumped up pushing me under the water. I resurfaced and saw her laughing next to me "Oh so it's a water fight eh?" I said pushing a wave of water over her. Her laughing stopped as she got drenched from the water. Before I knew it a wall of water was heading straight at me. We were both laughing now as we splashed and playfully pushed each other around in the water. This continued for severely minutes which only felt like seconds from the fun I was having. "Alright do we have a truce?" She asked after I sprayed her with yet another splash of water from my forearm. "Yes" I said letting my guard down only to be splashed by her. Just as I was about to splash back she shook her head "I don't think so, you agreed to a truce" She said sporting a smile. "No fair!" I said laughing her joining as well.

We swam over to the shore of the pond and got out of the water. I shook myself off getting rid of all the water as did she but she began to laugh looking at me. "What?" I asked not knowing what she could be laughing it this time. "Your fur, it's so fluffy" She said making me look at myself only to see that all of my fur was standing on end. I laughed as well before trying to flatten it all with my paws "Here hold still, let me help you with that" I heard her say before walking up next to me. I just sat in place as she sat behind me and pushed down my fur with her paws. This worked much better than I could ever do on my own. "Thank you" I said after she had finished turning my back to normal. "Anytime, but you did look very cute with your hair like that" She said happily as I turned around to face her. I smiled from her compliment and have her a quick kiss as a thank you. "I love you" I said " I love you two" She replied back "Come on, I'm sure the meeting will be starting when we get back home" She said getting up "Alright" I said before following her out of the cave still amazed about finding it.

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**A/N: Two more chapters to go!**


	15. Some Time With Friends

_Humphrey's POV_

The sun was more than half way through its daily voyage across the sky. The rain clouds that had been hanging on the distant mountains followed Kate and I on our way back home. By the time we arrived back into the western den grounds rain could be seen falling just on the opposite side of the valley. The sun had been covered by these clouds darkening everything up so a curtain degree. Most wolves on our side of the pack had been heading into their dens for shelter, unknown to them they would still have to come out later rain or shine. I climbed up the familiar slope that lead up to our parents den, keeping conversation with Kate. We had been making jokes to one another ever since we left the old eastern territory. Most alphas jokes were far too literal or uncreative that they didn't compare to what an omega was capable of. However plenty of me had worn off on to her from our trip to Idaho and back. Her jokes were actually pretty funny, much better than the average alphas.

Completing the rise I saw Winston out on the ledge that allowed him to see over his now shared territory. He sat quietly looking at the distant rain clouds appearing to be thinking about something. What it was I had no idea and that was his business, not mine. "Hey dad" Kate said as we walked up beside him "Hey guys" He greeted back in a happy tone, looking at us. There was a pause during which I looked out across the forest that could be seen from here. "What did you two do today?" He asked, it had only been four maybe five hours since we left here this morning. "We decided to go and explore the eastern territory to see what kind of cool things we could find." I said seeing him nod his head after my answer. "And did you find anything?" He asked "Yes we found this amazing cave, it had a swimming hole in it surrounded by plants and flowers. We took a swim in it, but oddly enough the cave seemed to be decorated by other wolves." I said.

"Interesting, you'll have to ask an eastern wolf about it, maybe it's a special place to them. Anything else you saw? I've only seen from here to their den grounds, nothing more." He said "No that's pretty much it, Kate came up with the idea to ask Garth about anything special so we'll hear about anything else." I said looking at Kate when I mentioned her name. She nodded her head but kept her face facing the rain clouds. The clouds had progressed quickly and were now dropping water onto the valley floor. So far I had not seen any lightening just a typical rain shower which came as a relief since thunderstorms were not something I really enjoyed. "Are you going to still hold the meeting, it looks like it is going to rain." Kate said "A little rain never hurt anyone, so yes the meeting will still be held." He said. I looked behind me to see Eve walking out of the shadows of her den, appearing to of just woken up. My guess was correct when she let out a yawn walking up to Winston's side.

"So what did you two do today?" She said unknowingly asking the same question her husband did not even ten minutes ago. "They went to the eastern territory and explored it" Winston said summing up the short trip. "Anything good?" She asked "Yes, we found a large cave that had a beautiful swimming hole lit up by a skylight. Lots of pretty flowers too." I said. "Sounds lovely" She replied with a smile "You two didn't try 'anything' did you?" She suddenly asked after a short silence. I was shocked by the question but what should I expect from an overprotective mother. "Uh..." I began but couldn't get the words out before Kate cut in "No mom we didn't do 'that', you know Humphrey is not that kind of wolf. We only swam in the water, nothing more" She said defending me from the potential wrath of Eve. "I was only making sure" She said, it was odd to me that she was still very protective of her daughters. Kate was a little over two years old, her birthday being during alpha school. She was perfectly old enough to be making her own decisions without the control of a parent.

I'm not saying that it was bad that her mother is protective, after all at least Kate had a family that cared for her. Unlike my family that had merely dropped me off into this pack and left me to fend for myself. I was pretty young at the time, staying here in Winston's den for some time while he taught me the basic knowledge every pup had when they entered their teen months. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't be where I was today as one of the top omegas in the pack. I also wouldn't of had known Kate as well as I did, she was my first ever friend since I didn't have any where I came from before. Sure sometimes I got upset about not remembering who my parents were and what they were like. But it was the past and there was no reason to linger in it, Winston had told me that they only did it so that I could live a safe life in a pack. I did hope that maybe someday I would get to see them again, but for now Kate and her family was now my only family and that satisfied me more than enough.

I realized that I had been deep in my thoughts for the past several minutes, so long that the rain was nearly falling upon us. Kate and her parents have been talking not noticing that I had been zoned out in my thoughts, which was a common occurrence. I tuned into their conversation in time to hear Eve suggest that Winston should start the meeting. "Winston I think you should start the meeting before the rain is fully upon us." She said "Good idea" He said before getting up and walking to the opposite side of the ledge that faced the den grounds. He howled out the clear message that signaled all pack meetings. The rest of us switched sides as well to be next to Winston again as some wolves began to sit below us. Kate and I sat close to one another as I watched the rest of the pack join in making a large group below. Most were talking to one another but some just looked between me, Kate, and Winston waiting for the meeting to begin.

Winston stood up and walked forward some more until his forepaws were right on the edge of the rock. A quick but loud 'Ahem' caught everyone's attention immediately. All conversation had stopped between the wolves as they waited for their leader to speak. "Good afternoon" Winston started speaking clearly so that every wolf could hear what he had to say. "I will make this quick since the rain is almost here. This might not be a shock to any of you but my oldest daughter Kate is now engaged to Humphrey and they wish to be wedded in two days." He said. Some of the wolves below began to cheer including my three best friends, Garth, and Lilly. I just sat proudly beside Kate as Winston signaled for everyone to settle down. "So keeping with the tradition all alpha duties will be canceled on this day. That is all, you may now return to what you were doing." He concluded ending the meeting. As if it waited for Winston to finish, the rain suddenly began to fall all around us. I could hear a couple of wolves yell "Congratulations" towards Kate and I before then headed back to their dens. We smiled and said "Thank you" back at each one.

We all remained where we were well after the meeting had ended letting the rain soak our fur. I was starting to feel the cold by the time Kate spoke up "I'm not sure about you Humphrey but I feel like taking a nap." She said quietly since she was right beside me. "I'm not so tired but I'll join you if you want" I replied "Alright let's go, the rain is starting to make me shiver." She said. We said goodbye to Kate's parents before leaving in the direction of our den. The sound of rain drops hitting the leaves above was like a soft kind of song. We walked silently next to each other passing through the den grounds, not a single wolf was outside due to the rain. It's not like any of us were afraid of getting our fur wet, it just wasn't worth getting a cold from staying out in the rain for too long. As we arrived to our den I noticed my three best friends all standing there. "Hey guys, how's things?" I said stopping in front of them. "Good, we came by to see if you wanted to go log sledding since the rain is making the hills slick." Salty said. That sounded like a great idea, it was about time I got to playing games with my friends. Of course my answer was yes since I wouldn't miss an opportunity to hang out with my friends. But at the same time I didn't want to be ditching Kate since I told her I would join her in a nap.

"That sounds like a good plan, I'd love to go" I said before turning to Kate who was right next to me "Is that okay?" I asked letting her know that I didn't forget what I told her earlier. She smiled "Go have fun with your friends, I'll be fine here" She said giving me a quick kiss before turning and vanishing into our den. I smiled and turned back toward my friends "Alright let's go find us a log." I said walking past the three of them. They joined by my side as I headed to my favorite hill to log sled on, it ran from a hill just above the den grounds all the way down to the valley floor. "So Humphrey how does it feel that you are now going to marry Kate" Shakey said starting up a conversation. I hadn't had the chance to catch up with any of them since I got back so I was in for a whole lot of questions. "It feels great guys, words can barely describe how I feel right now" I said "That's great man, were happy for you. I can hardly believe that you two actually fell in love." Salty said. "Yeah I can barely believe it too, but it's all real and my life is now complete." I said.

Our conversation continued with most of them asking what happened during our adventure from Idaho and I was more than happy to answer all of the questions. But just as I expected I got the wacky questions from Salty "So have you and Kate, well, you know..." He said raising an eyebrow. It took me a second to figure out what he meant and it hit me like a wall. "Oh! No Salty it's much too early for that!" I said feeling my face redden up form embarrassment. I never thought of Kate and I like 'that'. Sure it was bound to happen eventually but It would be sometime far into the future. I could hear the three of them snicker trying to hold back a full laugh "Relax man, I'm only kidding, it's between you and Kate only." He said. It wasn't long until we reached the top of the gradual hill which saved me from any further potential embarrassment. We split off into different directions to find a suitable enough log to fit all four of us. I came up with nothing but I soon heard Mooch calling out that he had found one. We all walked up to him to see a good log just sitting against a tree, it looked like on we had used before. "Nice that should work great for a run" I said before beginning to drag it back up to the summit of the hill, getting the help from the three of them of course.

"Alright guys same as always I'll steer, Salty you can be the drag, and Mooch is the boost for jumps." I said looking back at them smiling. It's been many days since I last log sledded and I was excited to do it again. "Game on!" Shakey said before we all jumped into the log with me on the front, Salty behind me followed by Shakey and finally Mooch. The sled had no trouble moving on its own due to the soft wet dirt from the rain that was still falling. I looked out ahead of us and could see the winding path the lead all the way down to the distant valley floor. It was defiantly a long run with plenty of trees to dodge, luckily we have had plenty of experience on this very hill. We all cheered as the sled began to gain speed down the long hill, the rush of air growing rapidly. This was actually the second time I've ever log sledded in the rain and I have well forgotten how hard the rain hits you when going at a fast speed. I focused on the path ahead calling out various commands for turning and slowing down. We had recently learned that going in a zig-zag motion keeps you from gaining too much speed which worked out great. No more crashing into rocks and catapulting through the air and on to the hard dirt. It only lasted around two minutes to reach the valley floor but it felt much longer than that. I shifted the log sideways to bring us into a tight turn that would eventually slow us down. But for some reason we hit something that quickly flipped the log the other way throwing us out before we even know what happened. Thankfully we landed into some mud so the impact wasn't anything too pain inducing.

We recovered ourselves from the sudden motion to see that we were all cover in mud, this caused us to all laugh. "Well that was almost a perfect run" I said trying to shake some of the heavy clumps of wet dirt from my pelt. The rain managed to help pull some of it off as well "Yeah, almost" Salty agreed. "At least this time we landed in something soft." Shakey said with Mooch agreeing. We sat in the spot of mud continuing to talk not caring that our furs were a complete mess, we are omegas after all. But soon the rain began to remind me that if we stayed here we might get sick or something "I think we should wash up and head home" I suggested. "Yeah I'm starting to get cold" Mooch said, we laughed when he said this "Dude, you should be the warmest of any of us right now" Salty joked. He laughed as well "Yeah I know" He said.

We headed up the valley wall towards the western den grounds. The rain was still falling with no sign of letting up anytime soon, and I could see that the sun was getting ready to set. I was mostly silent the whole way back but managed to involve myself in a few jokes as we headed for the eastern river to wash up. Today had been a great day, I got to spend time with Kate, plan our wedding, and spend time with my three best friends. Life never had a dull moment anymore and I liked it that way, I spent far too much time in the dark while Kate was away during alpha school. Wondering if I loved her and if she loved me back, of course I loved her and it wasn't until a week ago where I found out that she felt the same way. Our jokes and talking continued as we rinsed off the clumping mud from our furs, the sun had now set and light was quickly diminishing. After sometime we all split heading back to our own dens from the rest of the day and night.

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**A/N: The end is just around the corner and some of you have been asking if I'm going to be writing sequel. The answer is yes and details about it will be shared at the end of this story.**


	16. Preparations

**A/N: This ended up being longer than I expect so I'm splitting it into two chapters meaning that you get an extra chapter!**

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_Humphrey's POV_

Everything was quiet in my den, I had just woken up and was sitting in the entry way of the den. The early morning sun was hanging in the sky above and not a single cloud be seen. It looked like it was going to be a perfect day, but this day was already guaranteed to be perfect. Today was the day Kate and I would officially marry and become husband and wife. The joy I was feeling inside me was hard to contain, I couldn't help but smile. The reason everything was quiet was because I was alone since Kate had to stay away from me for all of today. The reason for this was because of the old tradition that it was bad luck for two soon to be mates to see each other before their wedding. I didn't really believe in that tradition but Kate's parents insisted that we do it anyway. Besides it's only for half a day anyway.

Our wedding was scheduled to begin this afternoon in a very special location. Instead of marrying at the valley just like Garth and Lilly did we decided to get married in the cave we discovered a couple of days ago. Kate and I had asked Garth about the cave and it turned out that they used it for their weddings, just like how we did ours in the valley. Upon hearing about this Kate wanted to have ours in this cave and I didn't blame her. Sure the valley was a beautiful place but come on, how many wolves can say they have been married in a cave. It just sounded cool and unique. We talked to Winston and Eve about the change in location and they agreed but had to check with Tony first considering it used to belong to his pack. Tony had agreed and liked the idea saying that it had been many months since the last wedding at that spot.

The cave was small and wouldn't fit many wolves inside for the ceremony, but this didn't matter. Our wedding wouldn't have as much whiteness as Garth and Lilly's did. The reason theirs was bigger was because it united both packs so every wolf from both packs was there for it. Ours would only have our family and friends and whoever else wanted to come from either pack. This was perfect to me, I didn't want a huge gathering or fuss over our wedding. Just a quiet, peaceful, and memorable experience that I will always think back on and just smile from the memory.

I had nothing planned to do today, just wash and clean up before heading over to the cave and waiting for everyone and Kate to come. I could just relax and enjoy some time alone for once in a long time. Yes I loved having Kate's and others company but sometimes I like to just go somewhere alone and be by myself. Maybe it was just a trait I got from my parents considering they were lone wolves, or just one of my own. Either way I enjoyed having it every now and then. I let out a yawn before getting up from where I had been sitting for the past half hour. My stomach was growling at me telling me that I needed some food. I walked out into the sunshine feeling it warm up my fur, it has slowly gotten hotter the past few days since summer was soon beginning. I have dealt with summers before of course and most of my days were spent in the water keeping cool from the hot sun.

I passed by a few wolves on my way to the feeding grounds, everyone had the day off today because of our wedding. Some said good morning to me which I returned saying good morning as well. Upon arriving to the feeding grounds I saw Lilly heading towards me with three squirrels dangling from her mouth. "Good morning Lilly, how's Kate?" I immediately asked, Kate had spent to night in her and Garth's den. She managed to laugh while still holding the prey but ended up dropping it. "Missing her already I see?" She said stopping in front of me "You could say that" I replied smiling. "She and Garth are still asleep so I decided to get food for the three of us before they awoke." She said.

"Alright, well tell her I said hi" I said, I would have talked longer but my stomach told me otherwise. "I will" She said laughing again before picking up the squirrels and walking past me. I laughed at myself before continuing to the pile of caribou carcasses. It had only been eight or so hours since I last saw Kate and I was already asking others how she was. I knew I could handle not seeing her until our wedding but that didn't mean I didn't want to know what she was up to.

I walked up to a dead caribou and ripped off some of its side muscle and fat. I didn't take much since I knew I didn't need a lot of food to fill me up. I found some shade under one of many pine trees and sat down. I could hear wolves talking amongst each other asking how they had been. I sat alone and just ate, after this I would head over to the river and wash up for my wedding. I still had many hours until it started but being early is better than being late. Suddenly I saw my three friends Salty, Shakey, and Mooch walking over to me from the den grounds. "Hey guys" I greeted happy to see them "Hey Humphrey" Shakey greeted back.

"What brings you here?" I asked curious as to why they showed up "Well since today is your big day we figured we would help get you cleaned up for it." Salty said with the other two nodding. "That's nice of you guys, but you don't need to do that for me." I said. I was perfectly able to straighten my hair myself, I've done it plenty of times before. "No we insist, you only get married once and besides, don't you want to impress Kate?" He said. He did have a point, I did want to impress Kate since I knew she would be doing the same, somehow. She always managed stay beautiful to me even when her fur was a mess, and I was interested and excited to see how she would look at the wedding. "Alright you got a point there" I replied agreeing to let them fancy me up.

I had already finished my meal and was sitting talking to them. Eventually we left the den grounds and headed east towards the river where I would wash up and let them straighten out my fur. It felt odd that they were doing this for me and I would have to owe them something probably. At the same time I was thankful I had friends like this, we were friends that went out of their way to help each other. We had been this way ever since I met them as a pup, together we worked as a team when it came to keeping the alphas in line. The same was true when we got into trouble or needed help. They had helped me live through being alone in this pack since I had no true family here. Teaching me the basics to being an omega which ended up making me the leader of all omegas in the pack, below Winston of course.

The sun was reflecting off of the waterfall that ran down the tall cliff side before coming to a dramatic splash in the river below. It was peaceful here, the birds were singing and the trees swayed in the light wind. We came to a stop on the bank all sitting down on the soft dirt. "Alright go wash up while I find a pine cone and a few other things." Salty said before walking through some bushes. I got up leaving Shakey and Mooch and headed into the ice cold water that made me shiver from the feel. I did my usual routine when it came to bathing, a simple dunk of my whole body underwater and some scrubbing afterword.

After I had finished with that I turned around and exited the water heading back to my friends. Salty had already retuned with a pine cone and some other assorted things. I knew that the pine cone was for combing my fur but the rest I had no idea. Salty had agreed to do all of the brushing and whatever else he plans of doing so that I would impress Kate. The others would be there as support saying what looked good and what didn't. To be honest I had no clue how he would make me impress Kate. She had already seen me with my fur clean and straight so what more could I do? But Salty was always full of surprises so this should be interesting to see what he does.

I sat down in front of them with my back facing at Salty who was already ready with the pine cone in his mouth. I talked to Shakey and Mooch while I felt Salty begin combing my back before getting to my mane. "I'm sorry Mooch but I forgot to ask you about how the howl went for you and Tasha." I said wanting to know if my little match making test worked out. "It went better than I expected, we talked for a while after you left getting to know each other. Then we howled after that, but we haven't really talked since that night." He replied. At first I was happy that I got my friend to howl with someone but that went away after he said that they hadn't talked after that night. "It's alright man, maybe it wasn't meant to be, you know?" I said giving him some comfort "Yeah maybe, but I'm just going to see how things play out for now, I don't got any hard feelings about it." He said.

"That's good" I said glad that he wasn't taking any of it personally. It became silent between us after that but it didn't take long before Salty had finished with the brushing. "Alright that should do it" He said stepping back "Go check it out" I got up and headed towards the water since I could see my reflection in it. I expected to see me with straight curl free fur but what I saw was the complete opposite. My fur was fine but my mane had been spiked up on end making it look two times bigger than it normally was.

"Ahhh!" I yelled jumping back in surprise at what I saw looking back at me. I could hear the three of them laughing behind me, I turned around and have them an angry look. I took my forepaws and push my mane back down to normal, it looked like I was going to being doing the rest myself. By then they had stopped their laughter and sat looking back at me "Man the look on your face was priceless" Shakey said. "Yeah well worth it" Salty agreed "But enough joking around, now to do it the right way" He said as I walked back up to them.

"You better" I said sitting where I was before getting up. Luckily I wasn't too mad since there was still plenty of time left before the ceremony. Plus they were only pulling a joke on me which I should have expected being that we were all omegas. Several minutes passed by as Salty fixed the mess he purposefully created, making my fur look the way it was so post to be. I continued talking with Shakey and Mooch during this. "Alright NOW it's good to go" Salty said putting emphasis on the word 'now'. I had turned so that I could see all three of them as Salty dropped the pine cone and looked at the other things he brought.

He picked up some berries and some flowers which confused me 'He better not decorate my mane with that...' I thought to myself, the last thing I need was looking like I got into a fight with mother nature at my own wedding. He turned back towards me "Uh... What are those for?" I asked. "Well since you want to impress Kate you need to stand out in more than one way." He said. I was still confused by what he meant but decided to go with it, this must have been where the fact that he was full of surprises came into play.

"So by rubbing the scent of these flowers and berries on you will make you more appealing to her." He said explaining what they were for. I was amazed by his idea, I would have never thought about making myself smell good on top of being visually appealing. "I say this all the time but you really are full of surprises" I said. "I know" He replied back before proceeding to rub the flowers down my fur. I expected the berries to end up staining my hair like most did do but it turned out that the juice of these berries was clear. It bended in perfectly with my fur and I could already smell the sweet aroma that was originating off of me.

"Ta da! Kate would be a fool not to think you look absolutely amazing right now." Salty said. I smiled before walking back over to the river to inspect the work he had done. This time I saw no flaws, just the normal but sharp looking me, I had to admit he did an amazing job with fancying me up. "Great job guys, thanks a million" I said walking back over to them. "Anytime Humphrey" Salty said which the others agreeing "I guess I'm going to owe you big time for this" I said sitting back down I front of them yet again.

"Not at all, it's yours and Kate's big day and you deserve to have it memorable." Shakey said, I smiled "Thanks guys" Was all I replied. An hour passed and the sun was now straight above the four of us, we had been talking this whole time telling jokes and sharing funny stories like we normally did. I decided that we should begin heading towards the cave so that we would be there before everyone else. They all agreed and I led the way as we headed eastbound for my soon to be wedding. The excitement and anticipation I felt inside slowing increasing with every step I took.


	17. The Way It Should Be

_Humphrey's POV_

"So, are you ready for this?" I heard Shakey ask me as we stopped in front of the caves entrance "Honestly I'm nervous, but I've never been more ready in my life" I replied taking a deep breath before speaking. "You'll do great! It's only a wedding and just think, within the next hour or two you'll be married to Kate." Salty said. I smiled "Yeah I'm so excited about it, you can't even imagine how I feel inside right now. It feels like I'm on top of the world but at the same time I got butterflies in my stomach." I said. "I'm sure it's amazing, maybe the rest of all will experience it someday as well." Salty said.

"Don't worry you'll all find that special someone, everyone does. It might seem like it is far away but trust me it's not" I say calmly making me think about how Kate and I were opposites and still managed to fall in love. "Thanks man" Mooch said with the others nodding and smiling. It became silent after that and I look up to notice that it was getting near the time of when my wedding was to begin. I looked back down to them, ready to get this show on the road.

"I appreciate everything you guys have done for me today, really. You have my kindest of regards and if there's anything you need don't hesitate to ask." I say looking at the three of them. "You're welcome, think of it as our thanks for all the times you've been there for us." Shakey said "Yeah!" Mooch agreed. I stick out one of my forearms out straight in from of me "To friendship!" I said loudly. They all immediately did the same thing as I did putting their paws all on top of mine. "To friendship!" They replied before we put our paws back down.

"Alright, let's do this" I say getting up and turning towards the cave entrance. The light grew dark as the four of us silently entered the gloomy cave, from a first appearance you wouldn't say this place was beautiful. The grey stony walls neither showed nor reflected any emotion, just a plain slate of nothingness. The roots that dangle above almost looked like they would reach out to you. Grabbing you and locking you inside the darkness forever, but if you fought your way through it you find the beauty that lied deeper within the cave. For around the corner was something that would take your breath away. Something that seemed out of your wildest dreams and almost fictional. This was of course the small room with a pond full of cool water and was filled with light from a hole in the roof. It still looked as amazing as when I last left it, as if frozen in time.

"Wow, you defiantly weren't lying about how amazing this is" Shakey said as the four of us walked up to the edge of the pond. "Oh yeah, defiantly one of a kind" Salty agreed "I'm just glad Kate and I found this, or else we would be getting married in the valley. I mean don't get me wrong the valley's nice but come on this is just unique." I said repeating my thoughts aloud. I climbed up onto the rock where I would be waiting until everyone and Kate arrived. I looked back at my three friends where we seated off to the right of me. Upon first glance you could actually fit a good amount of wolves in here. More than I thought meaning everyone shouldn't be all crammed in here for the ceremony.

As time passed wolves began to show up one by one either alone or in groups. So far everyone was western which I expected, but I didn't expect to see some eastern wolves to show up as well. Within the audience that sat below me I recognized Hutch, Candu, Reba, Janice, Lilly and Garth. I even saw the wolf Mooch got to howl with during the last moonlight howl. A whole thirty minutes had passed and mostly everyone from the western side of the pack was here. I counted about six eastern wolves including Tony who was their leader alongside Winston now. Everyone was talking and a few came up to talk to me including Lilly and Garth who said that they were happy for Kate and I, and wished us the best of luck. I already knew they were but I still said thank you and smiled.

The cave was mostly filled now and the voices of everyone were echoing throughout the cave. I looked towards the entry way in time to see Eve walk in and stop. She looked at me and signaled for me to quiet everyone down so that the wedding could begin. I nodded before standing up and clearing my throat "Alright everyone please listen up!" I said loudly over the voices of everybody else. They all stopped what they were doing and immediately looked at me, never have I been looked at by so many wolves at once.

"Welcome and thank you all for coming, it means a lot. The ceremony will be starting shortly but first I need you all to do me a favor." I said looking across all the faces that looked back at me. No one spoke which overwhelmed me, I had never felt so in charge before and the feeling was odd and new to me. "We need an aisle way down the middle here in front of me, so pick a side and move over." I say using my forepaws to show where I wanted the group to split up. Everyone did as they were told and moved over giving a clean walkway between the room entrance and I. "Perfect, thank you" I said receiving a smile from Eve who then walked toward me and sat in the front row.

It may seem like I just happen know what I'm doing when in reality Winston and Eve made a plan for how the wedding was to commence. You didn't exactly have a lot of room in this cave so I was told that I would have to do a few extra things such was making a walkway. It felt silly to me but if that's what had to be done in order to marry then so be it. Everyone remained silent waiting for the last two wolves to show up, this was of course Winston who would be bringing Kate.

As I stood there on top of the rock I felt anxiety building up within me. I couldn't wait to see Kate come around the corner in all her glory. I still had butterflies in my stomach from being nervous, and amount of emotions I felt was crazy. I never knew how complex of a feeling love could be. So much that it took me time to figure out the strange feelings I was getting around Kate before she went to alpha school. At first I thought I was sick since my stomach felt like it was in knots. It did go away but as soon as I saw her again it came right back. Even when I thought about her it yielded the same feelings. Eventually I figured out that I loved her and accepted the emotion and feeling as that.

Love can have two sides, you either thrive in it and live a great life. Or you get burned by it and feel a whole mix of feelings that bring you down to your knees. I can say that I've experienced both to a degree, sure I didn't really get burned but it was there for a brief moment of time. In the end it worked out and here I am now getting married to the girl of my wildest dreams. Life was good and I hoped it was going to stay that way for a long, long time.

Suddenly I could see Winston come around the corner of the cave and stop. Shortly after came the golden tan pelt of a wolf that I loved so much words couldn't describe it. Kate stopped next to her father as they stood at the opposite side of the aisle from me. Everyone had turned around and now had their eyes on their leader and his daughter. Winston had a smile on his face, he had mentioned many times before that he was happy to see his daughters married off to the wolves that they loved. Kate had a smile as well and _holy..._ she looked like a goddess, her fur was neatly combed and clean seaming to sparkle in the dim light of the cave. In her mane was a pink flower tucked neatly on her right ear, it looked much like the one she had on from the night we were captured. Once again she had managed the impossible and looked even more stunning to me. If she wasn't the definition of beauty then I don't know what is.

Winston lead her down the aisle past all the other wolves who's eye's followed them. I had locked eyes with her, time playing in slow motion as I watched her walk. I just smiled which she returned until they finally reached me. Winston climbed up first looking at me and gave a small nod, signaling that he accepted me marrying his daughter. I nodded back, of course I already knew that he accepted it but it was a part of tradition. Kate shortly followed him up and stood in front of me our smiles still showing. Winston stood in front of us facing the crowd ready to begin the ceremony.

"Welcome one and all, thank you for showing your support in seeing these two wolves marry and become one. I would like to say that as the father of the bride I accept her decision in choosing a mate. Humphrey is a good wolf who will do anything to be there for her. He's more than willing to take chances to keep her safe as I've witnessed before and his courage in helping her back home supports this. He may be an omega but I am proud to call him my son and I hope to see these two enjoy many years of happiness together."

A few wolves cheered as Winston jumped down to sit beside Eve in the front row. It was now just Kate and I starring at each other as the cheering ceased. My heart was racing, feeling like it could burst out of my chest at any moment. It felt like an eternity had passed while I looked into her eyes. I felt like not doing anything and just spend the rest of my time standing there before her. But the longer we stood here frozen in time the further away our marriage will be postponed. "So, you ready?" I whispered to her, she lightly giggled to herself before responding "Oh you know I am" She whispered back.

I nodded before beginning the marriage ritual, I moved up closer to her where I breathed in her scent accepting it. I smelt the sweet smell that was her scent but I could also smell something else, like she had rubbed something on her much like Salty had done to me. Whatever it was it smelled great, I wanted to stay there so I could continue to smell it but I fought the urge and pulled back. It was Kate's turn to accept my scent and I watched her bring head next to mine smelling the side of my neck. A few moments later she pulled back ready for the next step which was to nibble on each other's ears.

Everything was going smoothly and before I knew it we were at the final and most important step. Our noses came together ending the ritual meaning that Kate and I were finally true mates. I could hear everyone cheer and howl from below us. Our kiss lasted for a short while until we pulled away and just stood looking back at each other. I was overwhelmed by my emotions as I smiled the biggest I could. Kate was smiling as well but I could see that her eyes were starting to become watery. The happiness inside her was bringing her to tears and it made me want to do the same. I embraced her into a hug which she returned burying her face into the side of my neck wiping off her tears into my fur.

"We did it, were finally married" I said softly to her "I know, I can't believe that everything has gone so perfect for us." She said. "Yeah I can't believe it either, I love you Kate" I said "I love you too" She replied before we pulled out of our hug. The tears were gone in her eyes but you could tell they were once there. We faced the group of wolves who were still cheering but began to quiet down. Winston walked back up and stood beside us "As your leader I hereby announce that Kate and Humphrey are now mates and may their future be filled with greatness. I would like to thank all of you for showing up it means a lot to not only me but the wedded couple as well. The ceremony is over and a celebratory pack dinner will be being held at the western feeding grounds. You are all welcome to attend if you so wish and we hope to see you there." He said. Wolves began to exit the cave before us, all going back to whatever it was they had planned to do. Since Kate and I didn't want our wedding to be a big thing we decided that instead of having a moonlight howl party there would just be a pack dinner. Just something simple, plus there was a howl only a few days ago so it wasn't necessary to have another one so soon.

Soon everyone had left leaving just Kate, Eve, Winston and I. Kate and I had jumped off of the rock and sat next to our parents "I'm so proud of you honey, I always imaged the day of seeing my daughters get married." Eve said "Thanks mom" Kate replied, she was leaning up against me with one of her paw's on top of mine. My head was up in the clouds, the moment felt so unreal almost like I was dreaming, I was lost in my thoughts going through everything that had just happened. I was always thinking about the past almost two weeks and how so much has happened. I went from being an omega with a far off love to an omega who was married to an alpha. I would have thought you were crazy if you said that I would be married to Kate within two weeks.

"Well we should be getting back home, the dinner will be starting soon." I heard Winston say as I came back to reality. "Alright" I said as we all got up and walked out of the cave. The sun was getting low to the horizon as it was getting ready to set on this eventful day. The wind was blowing cooling everything off, it had been a hot day today and the wind did feel good on my fur. It seemed like I was calling every day the best in my life but I knew that this would have to be the last one for a long time. Nothing would top this day, the day that I married the love of my life. The only thing that could top this would be the day Kate and I have family, but as I've said before that day was far off in my mind.

I looked over at Kate who was walking along side of me, 'Well you did it Humphrey, you got the girl of your dreams...' My mind said as I looked at her. She must have realized that I was looking at her because she turned and faced me. She giggled when she realized that I actually was looking at her "What are you looking at?" She asked playfully rubbing up against my side trying to push me away. "Nothing, can't a guy look at his wife?" I replied with a sly smile, she laughed again "I suppose so" She said still messing with me. The forest was quiet as the four of us walked through it, it was peaceful and felt romantic considering my love was right by my side. "So what do we do now?" She suddenly asked as we got closer to home, after all that has happened all I want to do is absolutely nothing. "Well I don't know about you but I'm doing nothing but spend time with you" I said. "I'd like that" She was all she said smiling, she licked the side of my muzzle which made me blush from the feeling. I smiled and happily returned the action causing a few soft giggles to escape from her.

"I love you"

"I love you too Kate, always and forever."

_**THE END**_

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**A/N: Woo it's done! Happy ending for everyone but it's not over yet, that's right I'll be writing a sequel continuing the story. So keep an eye out for that coming soon. I would like to thank you for reading this story and I hoped you enjoyed it. And thanks to those that took the time to review after each chapter, you're words kept me going strong as this story was completed within a month's time (**_That's faster than Adventures_**). Feel free to leave your thoughts about the story as a whole, I accept criticism you might have. Well that's enough blabbering, have a good day!****-ChriZ**


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